Liam Dann: NZ Herald business editor at large on Donald Trump announcing 25 percent tariffs on car imports to US

President Donald Trump has recently announced he will be putting 25 percent tariffs on auto imports into the US.

Trump explained this move would foster domestic manufacturing - but economists are concerned about the wider implications of this move.

NZ Herald business editor at large Liam Dann unpacks the outcomes of this - and warns more changes could come as the Trump administration is set to announce reciprocal tariffs in April.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Liam Dan is with us at Donald Trump announcing today
twenty five percent tariffs on global car imports that includes
car parks. This is ahead of the car parks, I
should say this ahead of April second, when he's announcing
all the reciprocal tariffs. Liam Dan, the Herald's Business editor
at large. Liam Good evening. Gooday, Ryan, Good to have
you back.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Yep. Now, yeah, yeah, Well you're going to hear a
lot about this in the next few days, I guess,
as we as markets especially start to sort of get
excited about April second, which I guess is Wednesday, but
maybe maybe Thursday morning, we'll find out in New Zealand
exactly what we've copped and what the world has copped
in terms of this tariff policy, which has been flip

(00:43):
flopping around for a few months. So be nice to
get some certain, do you.

Speaker 1 (00:46):
I suppose it will, But there was some reprieve yesterday
when the administration seemed to indicate they might pull back
a little bit on the extent of them.

Speaker 2 (00:56):
Yeah, and which makes you think you'd be pretty brave
to be on it being the final word next week,
because it seems to be that depending on what's happening
with markets and what's happening with the US economy, it
can be a moving feast. But you know, they've said
this is the date they've had a look at it all.
They're looking at reciprocal tariffs, which thankfully New Zealand doesn't

(01:18):
have a lot of tariffs on on its goods on
imports these days. So you know, the hope is that
we're not directly in the firing line. But yeah, just
just some certainty, I mean, at some point that you
know that the markets can cope, they'll price it in
and they'll get on with things. But at the moment,

(01:38):
you know, the damage being done to your key we
savor account and the sort of ups and downs of
Wall Street every morning in New Zealand, you know, really
causing a fair bit of global turmoil, i'd say for
the you know, for the global economy.

Speaker 1 (01:55):
And even not just the sheer markers, but also just
the pause on investment as well. What about these car
terraffs specifically. I thought it was interesting today reading that
the sheer market responded by and this is the stocks
and American car manufacturers were actually done off the back
of this. You would have thought it would be the

(02:15):
other way around what's going on here.

Speaker 2 (02:18):
Yeah, they've raised this concern and they've been I guess
rebuffed at this point. But you know, it's very difficult
because of you know, up until the last Donald Trump presidency,
there was a real free trade agreement NAFTA in the US,
and so cars in America are made of bits from Mexico,
bits from Canada, and some of them assembled in the US,

(02:39):
some of them assemb so you know, so all the technology,
you know, the smart technology might be made in the
US and they might be then assembled in Mexico. So
it's it's very hard to work out, you know exactly,
you know, how how it's going to affect the car makers,
but it's it's not but not promising for them, and

(03:02):
especially you know, a lot of them international players. So
there's a lot of concern that China is going to
sort of fill the gap around the world if the
US cops sort of retaliatory trade. You know, people people
don't when you send their cars there because of the tariffs,
there will be retaliation. China is poised, with this incredible

(03:23):
sort of output manufacturing output of evs at the moment
to send their byds and so on into the world,
So there is some talk that we could we could
see some benefits from that. If you like the look
of the Chinese by ds.

Speaker 1 (03:38):
I do. Actually, I've seen a couple of them go
past in the traffic lately and I thought, yeah, they
look they look quite good. Actually, I don't know.

Speaker 2 (03:46):
I seem quite good at making us something that looks
like a proper suv. And apparently their battery technology is
very good, so they've they've invested billions over there in
the battery technology. So that's you know the thing for
New Zealander, isn't it making sure you could actually get
away camping and back and do the distances that people
like to do on the holidays.

Speaker 1 (04:05):
Yeah, good point, Liam, Thank you very much for that.
Great to have yours on as always, Liam Dan, the
Herald's Business editor, Are at Large.

Speaker 2 (04:12):
For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to
news talks. It'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.