U.S. may not need to impose auto tariffs this month

The United States may not need to put tariffs on imported automobiles later this month after holding “good conversations” with automakers in the European Union, Japan and Korea, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross stated in an interview issued on Sunday.

The United States must decide by November 14 if they should impose threatened U.S. national security tariffs of as much as 25% on automobiles and auto parts. The tariffs have been currently delayed once by six months, and trade experts state that could happen again.

Ross informed Bloomberg in an interview that the Trump administration hoped to avoid imposing the tariffs following discussions about capital investment plans with automakers.

“We have had very good conversations with our European friends, with our Japanese friends, with our Korean friends, and those are the major auto manufacturing sectors,” Ross stated.

“Our hope is that the negotiations we have been having with individual companies about their capital investment plans will bear enough fruit that it may not be necessary to put the 232 (tariffs) completely into effect, may not even be necessary to put it partly in effect,” he said.