The decree maintains an important exception: steel and aluminum rates can also be applied simultaneously, even if the same product is affected by both regimes
It announced, on Tuesday (29), that the US President signed a new executive order to avoid the “cumulative effect” of overlapping tariffs applied to and imported automotive parts. The decree will also have a retroactive effect on goods subject to previous rates “on or after March 4, 2025”. The decision was revealed before the rally that the Republican tycoon scheduled for tonight in the Detroit region, the cradle of the American automotive industry, to celebrate the first 100 days of his second term.
In a statement, the Trump government stressed that the measure aims to ensure that tariffs “do not accumulate excessively” on the same products, preventing rates from exceeding the necessary to achieve the government’s “political goals”. “Although each of these actions has a different purpose, I determined that when applied to the same article, these tariffs should not have a cumulative effect,” Trump said in the order of the Order.
The executive order determines that cars and pieces, already taxed in a previous decree, will not be subject to additional rates of other measures, such as those aimed at combating illicit drugs or imports of metals. Similarly, products taxed by national security measures, such as those related to the North and South borders, will not have extra charges on steel and aluminum. For example, an imported car that already pays fare for national security decisions will no longer be additionally taxed for steel or illicit drug measures. The same applies to automotive parts.
However, the order maintains an important exception: Steel and aluminum tariffs may still be applied simultaneously, even if the same product is affected by both regimes. This means that, for example, a steel plate used in the manufacture of automobiles may continue to be taxed by both the decree regulating the metal and other measures, such as national security fares.
*With information from Estadão Content
Posted by Carolina Ferreira
