Trump Imposes 25% Tariff on Heavy-Duty Trucks
Levy Taking Effect Oct. 1 Will Apply to Trucks Made Outside of US
Key Takeaways:
- President Trump announced a 25% tariff on heavy-duty trucks manufactured outside the United States, set to take effect Oct. 1, in what he says is an effort to protect domestic truck manufacturers from foreign competition.
- American Trucking Associations opposes the tariffs, arguing they could force fleets to drastically reduce truck purchases and extend trade cycles because of the industry's thin margins and inability to pass costs to customers.
- The tariffs could increase the average price of a new Class 8 truck from $170,000 to $224,000 when combined with federal excise taxes, making new trucks cost-prohibitive for most trucking companies.
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President Donald Trump announced that his administration will soon impose a 25% tariff on heavy-duty trucks manufactured outside of the United States.
“In order to protect our Great Heavy Truck Manufacturers from unfair outside competition, I will be imposing, as of October 1st, 2025, a 25% Tariff on all “Heavy (Big!) Trucks” made in other parts of the World,” Trump announced in a Sept. 25 post on his Truth Social platform. “Therefore, our Great Large Truck Company Manufacturers, such as Peterbilt, Kenworth, Freightliner, Mack Trucks, and others, will be protected from the onslaught of outside interruptions. We need our Truckers to be financially healthy and strong, for many reasons, but above all else, for National Security purposes!”
Trump did not specify which weight classes are affected. However, in April the Department of Commerce launched an investigation to determine “the effects on the national security of the imports of medium-duty trucks, heavy-duty trucks, and medium- and heavy-duty truck parts.”
All of the manufacturers Trump listed in his post manufacture trucks both inside and outside of the United States.
American Trucking Associations in May voiced opposition to the prospect of the proposed truck tariffs, stressing the levies could cause financial strain for an industry already struggling through a weak operating environment.
“In general, ATA is opposed to this investigation and does not believe that the importation of heavy-duty trucks poses a national security threat,” ATA wrote in comments filed May 16.
The Commerce Department investigation centers on , which authorizes imposition of tariffs on foreign goods in circumstances where the federal government deems them appropriate to protect national security. Some of the tariffs already imposed by Trump — including some against steel and aluminum — were adopted under Section 232.
ATA warned in May that imposition of truck-specific tariffs under Section 232 could compound the effects these earlier tariffs are already having on truck prices.
“Heavy-duty tractors bought by U.S. carriers only come from two places: the United States and Mexico,” ATA wrote. “There are virtually no other countries that export finished heavy-duty tractors into the U.S. market. As a United States, Mexico, Canada Agreement country, we do not believe Mexican truck production poses a national security risk to the U.S. In fact, truck production throughout North America is highly integrated.”
It also cautioned that such tariffs — which will now be taking effect — could have severe consequences for trucking fleets.
“Trucking is a highly competitive business with hundreds of thousands of participants,” ATA wrote. “Trucking is one of the few businesses where the pool of competitors is not limited by size or location, with small fleets competing against large ones and East Coast-based companies competing with those based on the West Coast. As a result, underbidding is very common, which leads to very small margins and the inability to pass along increased operating costs to the customer.”
ATA continued, “Motor carriers can’t just absorb higher truck prices or pass them along to customers. Instead, fleets will be faced with no other option but to drastically reduce truck buying by extending trade cycles. This will lead to a large drop in truck manufacturing in the U.S. and Mexico as well as a corresponding drop in manufacturing of parts for new trucks.”
It added, “With a new Class 8 truck costing an average of $170,000, a 25% tariff applied to all new trucks from Mexico would increase the retail price to $200,000. This means that trucking companies would have to pay the 12% [federal excise tax] on the post-tariff price of $200,000, not $170,000. That brings the total price of a new truck, on average, to $224,000, which is simply cost prohibitive for the vast majority of trucking companies.”
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