U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that his 25 per cent auto tariffs “could go up” for cars made in Canada, as he seeks to drive auto manufacturing back to the United States.
Trump made the comment after declining to weigh in on Canada’s federal election, which has been dominated by the growing trade war with the U.S., saying it wouldn’t be “appropriate” for him to say if he preferred an outcome for Monday’s vote.
However, Trump did take the opportunity to list his oft-repeated grievances with Canada on trade, saying the U.S. doesn’t need products like oil and lumber it buys from its northern ally — but “particularly cars.”
“They took a large percentage of the carmaking, and I want to bring it back to this country,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.
“I really don’t want cars from Canada. So when I put tariffs on Canada — they’re paying 25 per cent, but that could go up in terms of cars — when we put tariffs on, all we’re doing is saying, ‘We don’t want your cars, in all due respect, we want really to make our own cars,’ which is what we’re doing in record numbers.”
Trump later said he’s not considering an increase to his auto tariffs now, but added that “at some point they could go up.”
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The comments come a week after Trump suggested he might temporarily exempt the auto industry from the tariffs, to give carmakers time to adjust their supply chains.
Trump’s auto tariffs have upended North American assembly lines, which are highly integrated and often see parts and components cross U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico multiple times before a vehicle is fully built.
Canada has imposed 25 per cent counter-tariffs on U.S.-assembled vehicles, though it followed the U.S. in allowing importers to deduct the value of Canadian and Mexican content under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement on free trade.
Some Canadian auto plants have temporarily halted production and laid off unionized workers.
Auto companies including Honda, Volkswagen and Hyundai have recommitted investments in U.S. manufacturing in response to Trump’s policies, which the administration has touted as proof that the president’s agenda is working. Yet economists and industry analysts have warned the tariffs will also raise prices for vehicles sold in the U.S.
A study by the Michigan-based Center for Automotive Research found that the tariffs will increase costs by about US$108 billion for automakers in the country in 2025.
Federal party leaders have all committed to helping Canada’s auto industry weather the storm sparked by Trump’s tariffs and shore up domestic supply lines.
Liberal Leader Mark Carney has pledged a $2-billion strategic response fund for the auto sector and a Canadian auto manufacturing network, and vows to “leverage government funding” to prioritize Canadian-built vehicles.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has proposed a temporary sales tax cut for Canadian-made vehicles, primarily those built at plants in Ontario, and that the auto sector would be included in a $3-billion loan program for tariff-affected industries.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has said an NDP government would “use every legal tool available” to stop companies that have received public money from taking auto plants, machinery and tools out of the country, and would require that federal departments and agencies buy vehicles made in Canada.
Trump said he has had “very nice” conversations with Carney, who is serving as prime minister in a caretaker capacity during the election campaign.
But later, Trump repeated his assertion that Canada should be a U.S. state for the first time since the campaign began last month.
“I have to be honest, as a state, it works great,” he said. “As a nation — considering the fact that, you know 95 per cent of Canada what they do is they buy from us, and they sell to us … it doesn’t make sense. If we needed something, that would be a different subject.
“I’m working well with Canada, we’re doing very well. We’re working on a deal, and we’ll see what happens.”
Carney has said he and Trump agreed that Canada and the U.S. will hold “comprehensive negotiations” on a new trade and security arrangement after the Canadian election.
Representatives from Canada have been in communication with the Trump administration during the campaign.
—With files from Global’s Sean Previl and the Associated Press
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
