The “Big Three” U.S. car companies are disappointed in President Donald Trump’s trade agreement with the United Kingdom, claiming that the deal will harm “American automakers, suppliers, and auto workers.”
The American Automotive Policy Council (AAPC), which represents Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis, released a statement on Thursday criticizing Trump’s trade deal with Britain shortly after the agreement was announced in the Oval Office. Trump and his trade officials hailed the deal as a major victory for the president’s economic agenda, but U.S. car manufacturers argue that it prioritizes the United Kingdom “ahead of our North American partners.”
Ford, GM, and Stellantis, which make some of their vehicles in Canada and Mexico, are upset that U.K. car companies will only pay a 10% tariff to export to the U.S. market while the American automakers continue to face a 25% tariff for vehicles manufactured outside of the country.
“The U.S. automotive industry is highly integrated with Canada and Mexico; the same is not true for the U.S. and UK. We are disappointed that the administration prioritized the UK ahead of our North American partners,” said Matt Blunt, the former Missouri GOP governor who is now the AAPC president. “Under this deal, it will now be cheaper to import a UK vehicle with very little U.S. content than a USMCA compliant vehicle from Mexico or Canada that is half American parts. This hurts American automakers, suppliers, and auto workers.”
In a statement to the New York Post on Friday, the White House responded to the automakers’ statement, defending the deal with the United Kingdom.
“No president has taken a greater personal interest in reviving the American auto industry than President Trump. The Trump administration is working hand-in-glove with automakers to reshore manufacturing that is critical to our national and economic security, including with custom-tailored tariff relief and deregulatory policies,” said White House spokesman Kush Desai.
Trump, through his 25% tariff on auto imports, has been pushing American auto manufacturers to bring manufacturing back to the United States from Canada and Mexico. Last month, the president agreed to provide some tariff relief to U.S. car companies, preventing additional tariffs from stacking on top of each other in exchange for the companies’ commitments to furthering their domestic production. The “Big Three” automakers are now concerned that foreign competition from the United Kingdom will get the upper hand following Trump’s trade deal.
Trump’s agreement with the United Kingdom will allow the country to export up to 100,000 cars to the United States for a 10% tariff, a decrease from the president’s 25% duty on other foreign auto imports. In 2024, nearly 16 million total vehicles were sold in the United States. Some of the top-selling British brands include Jaguar, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, and Range Rover. Rolls-Royce engines will also be allowed to come into the United States tariff-free.
“This historic deal delivers for British business and British workers, protecting thousands of British jobs in key sectors including car manufacturing and steel,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.
U.K. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds told the BBC that the trade deal came just in time as the country was close to losing thousands of auto manufacturing jobs due to Trump’s tariffs.
“This was very serious,” he said. “It would have meant people would have lost their jobs without this breakthrough.”
The AAPC added that it hopes “this preferential access for UK vehicles over North American ones does not set a precedent for future negotiations with Asian and European competitors.”
