European Cars Are Back On The Menu, But Prices Will Rise

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Happy Monday! It's July 28, 2025, and this is The Morning Shift, your regular roundup of nan apical automotive headlines from astir nan world, successful 1 place. This is wherever you'll find nan astir important stories that are shaping nan measurement Americans thrust and get around.

In this morning's edition, we're looking astatine nan U.S.'s shiny caller waste and acquisition woody pinch nan EU, arsenic good arsenic really our tariffs person driven poorness among now-former Canadian car workers. We'll besides look astatine Audi's consequence to nan tariffs, and Tesla's caller woody pinch Samsung.

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The United States has been antagonizing its trading partners nether nan Trump administration, demanding that our friends salary fealty successful nan shape of tariffs connected trade. This isn't really tariffs really activity — American importers salary nan tax, nary caller money enters nan country's system from different nations — but things activity otherwise successful nan reality imagined by our President, truthful we're benignant of stuck pinch this. Our trading partners person had to fundamentally watch nan societal media level that Trump himself owns to spot really overmuch other their equipment will costs connected immoderate fixed day, but now nan European Union tin remainder easy knowing it has a set, safe woody pinch us. Sort of. From Reuters:

The United States and nan European Union agreed connected a model waste and acquisition deal, which leaders connected some sides of nan Atlantic said would extremity months of uncertainty for industries and consumers.

Here are nan main elements of nan woody that will participate into unit connected August 1 done an executive bid by President Donald Trump, according to EU officials:

* BASELINE TARIFF RATE: Almost each EU equipment entering nan U.S. will beryllium taxable to a 15% baseline tariff. The 15% tariff is not added to immoderate existing rates

* CARS: Cars and car parts will beryllium taxable to nan 15% tariff, compared to nan 27.5% they look now.

Your adjacent European car will apt costs astatine slightest 15% more, acknowledgment to these tariffs. Even if you bargain a Volkswagen built successful nan United States, that mill is still paying 15% other for parts — unless nan parts are besides made here, successful which lawsuit someone's paying an other 50% for European alloy and aluminum. The only measurement to dodge tariffs is to do everything here, from mining done to a last product, which will itself adhd costs because mining companies successful nan States can't usage Dickensian orphans arsenic labor. Well, not yet anyway. Florida's moving connected it. Regardless, your adjacent car will costs you more, and location are plentifulness much parts of nan EU waste and acquisition woody that are pending investigation from nan United States. This is fine. 

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A awesome tenet of nan Trump administration's attack to overseas argumentation is bringing manufacturing jobs backmost to nan United States. This is nan benignant of thought that sounds really bully until you deliberation astir it, and recognize that Americans don't really want to activity successful manufacturing (and that our full world system is built connected staggering levels of worker exploitation that you can't really legally propulsion disconnected here). But those jobs that Trump wants to bring backmost person to travel from somewhere, and immoderate person travel from nan car manufacturing centers of Canada — areas that are now seeing unemployment, poverty, and literal breadstuff lines. From Bloomberg: 

An hr from Toronto, downtown Oshawa seems to exude nan vibe of a pleasant mini town. But signs of economical accent are multiplying successful nan spot that erstwhile fashioned itself arsenic Canada's centrifugal city.

Lines shape early extracurricular nan nutrient slope connected Simcoe Street wherever customers load strollers pinch pasta and bags of bread. Homeless encampments dot nan stream trail. Inside section nutrient joints for illustration Ciao Amici, a luncheon extremity serving Italian specialties, conversations drift toward layoffs. On that front, there's a batch to talk about.

Unemployment has surged successful Oshawa and now tops 9%, 1 of nan highest rates of immoderate Canadian city. In May, soon aft US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs connected automobiles, General Motors Co. said it planned to trim output astatine nan only Canadian assembly works it owns that builds pickup trucks. The move affects immoderate 700 jobs astatine nan factory. Many much group will consciousness nan ripple effects.

This is simply a facet that companies aren't apt to see overmuch erstwhile moving accumulation around, beyond changing labour costs and nan anticipation of national actions complete mill closures, but thing that nan countries negotiating waste and acquisition deals should support successful mind. The little they tin get U.S. tariffs, nan much equipment support flowing from their shores, and nan much of their ain manufacturing workers enactment employed. 

Audi

Many European automakers person a adjacent level of U.S. manufacturing — BMW builds successful South Carolina, Mercedes-Benz successful Alabama — but Audi isn't 1 of them. None of nan company's cars are built successful nan States, meaning each 1 will beryllium taxable to these caller tariffs. That's not awesome for yearlong net estimates, and Audi is now adjusting its numbers to show really severely nan institution will beryllium affected. From Reuters:

Audi said it is still assessing nan implications of nan waste and acquisition woody reached betwixt nan United States and nan European Union connected Sunday.

The statement group a 15% baseline U.S. tariff connected imports from nan EU, including cars, which had antecedently faced customs duties of 27.5%.

"Should nan 15% tariff enactment successful spot long-term, it would still put Audi astatine a competitory disadvantage, because its cardinal peers person a much pronounced U.S. accumulation footprint," said Fabio Hoelscher, an expert from Warburg Research.

This puts Volkswagen Auto Group successful an absorbing position, because nan VW marque does really person a manufacturing beingness successful nan States. Someone backmost successful Germany is apt moving nan numbers correct now, weighing expected income numbers against costs and profits to spot whether it makes consciousness to allocate a spot of Chattanooga's VW accumulation capacity towards its Audi aliases Porsche platform-mates. I do not envy nan personification doing that math. 

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Tesla is shifting its business from nan flailing automaking helping into much diversified gross streams for illustration bad diners, but nan institution does still make cars — cars that request chips. Those chips will now travel from Samsung's Texas plant, wherever Tesla CEO Elon Musk has promised to personally locomotion nan accumulation lines to "accelerate nan gait of progress." Whatever that means. From Automotive News:

Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk said nan U.S. automaker had signed a $16.5 cardinal woody to root chips from Samsung Electronics, a move expected to bolster nan South Korean tech giant's loss-making statement manufacturing business.

Samsung's shares jumped arsenic overmuch arsenic 6.8 percent to their highest since September past twelvemonth aft news of nan deal. Tesla shares were up 1.6 percent successful U.S. premarket trading.

Musk said Samsung's caller spot mill successful Taylor, Texas, will make Tesla's next-generation AI6 chip, perchance re-energizing nan task that has faced agelong delays amid Samsung's difficulties successful retaining and attracting awesome clients.

"Samsung agreed to let Tesla to assistance successful maximizing manufacturing efficiency. This is simply a captious point, arsenic I will locomotion nan statement personally to accelerate nan gait of progress. And nan fab is conveniently located not acold from my house," Musk said successful a station connected X connected Monday.

Having your leader virtually guidelines complete your enarthrosis and watch you activity is ever bully for your productivity, right? You ever activity faster nether that benignant of micromanagement. Have nosy pinch that, Samsung workers.

That's correct folks, each group calved successful aliases naturalized to nan U.S. are citizens. Done, settled, adjacent question. 

This 1 is virtually connected nan radio, arsenic KEXP DJ Eva Walker is connected a jazz footwear this greeting and blessing my ears pinch immoderate highly bully brass and piano. You each merit to perceive this too.