Post #42602 by PucksFool on the US Policy board

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The irony meter is pegged at 11.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/commentary-trump-ri...
The new tariffs on imported autos President Trump announced on March 26 will have profound effects on automakers and car buyers. One of them could be the "Cubanization" of the US auto fleet: As car prices rise, buyers hold on to old cars longer, and the average age of the US fleet rises.

Cuba is famous, or maybe notorious, for the antique cars from the 1940s and 1950s that still ply the roads as taxicabs and personal vehicles. That's not a national sense of nostalgia. When Fidel Castro's regime seized power in 1959, the United States imposed sanctions that are still in place and effectively keep Western cars and car parts out of the country. So, Cubans have had to make do with what they had prior to the Castro takeover. While it might seem charming to visitors, jury-rigging gas guzzlers with homemade parts in a nation with fuel shortages is an ongoing nightmare for many Cuban car owners.

The Trump tariffs won't be quite as punishing, but if they stick, they will rattle the whole industry. Trump says that beginning April 3, all imported cars will face a 25% tariff. The current tariff on most imports is only 2.5%. A month later, major components such as engines and transmissions will face the same tariff.

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