Auto Care Association Pens Letter Urging White House to Reconsider Steel and Aluminum Tariffs

BETHESDA, Md. – March 12, 2018 – In a letter submitted to President Trump, the Auto Care Association urged the administration to reconsider imposing tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum due to unintended negative consequences it may have on the U.S. economy and the auto care industry.

Last week, President Trump issued a presidential proclamation imposing a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports following findings in the Department of Commerce’s Section 232 National Security Investigation of Imports of Steel and Aluminum.

“Based on the fact that there are few parts necessary for the upkeep of a vehicle that do not contain significant amounts of steel and aluminum, this action will have a significant negative impact throughout the supply chain, including many small and medium and size businesses and their employees that comprise the auto care industry,” said Bill Hanvey, president and CEO, Auto Care Association.

“While we are grateful that our trading partners, Canada and Mexico, are currently exempt, it is our view that that these tariffs will quickly become a tax on the repair and maintenance of vehicles, a tax that will ultimately be paid for in higher repair prices by the American car owner,” said Hanvey.

"We applaud the administration’s efforts to rebalance trade and protect the U.S. steel industry and workers, but we are concerned that global import tariffs on steel and aluminum would have a devastating effect on steel-consuming manufacturers downstream, including the auto care industry. Tariffs artificially raise the prices of steel, causing modifications to tightly integrated global supply chains and companies to be less competitive in global markets.

"We urge the administration to reconsider this action and continue investigating the impact of steel and aluminum tariffs on the U.S. economy and steel-consuming sectors downstream."