How much will the new tariffs cost U.S. auto importers?

The 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico expose U.S. auto importers to billions of dollars in added costs. Altana's analysis found $24.8 billion in exposure for auto body parts, $12.8 billion for brakes and brake parts, and $7.9 billion for reciprocating piston engines. These three categories alone affect thousands of importers.

When did the U.S. tariffs on Canada and Mexico take effect?

The 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico went into effect on March 4, 2025. U.S. automakers received a one-month reprieve before the tariffs applied to them.

Which auto parts are most affected by the tariffs?

The hardest-hit categories are a catch-all code for auto body parts with $24.8 billion in exposure, brakes and brake parts with $12.8 billion, and reciprocating piston engines with $7.9 billion. The auto body parts code alone involves more than 2,000 importers, while brakes involve more than 600 and piston engines 57.

Who is hit by the 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican auto parts?

The tariffs affect thousands of U.S. automakers, engineering facilities, parts suppliers, and repair shops that buy auto components from Canada and Mexico. They will pay more for parts from two of America's largest trading partners, raising costs across the auto value chain.

How can Altana's Tariff Scenario Planner help companies respond to tariffs?

Altana's Tariff Scenario Planner shows the precise share of product costs hit by new tariffs, down to the shipment level. It helps companies identify which suppliers pose the highest cost risk and find qualified alternative suppliers outside affected trade lanes. The Planner is built on a company's own product-level, multi-tier value chains rather than fragmented data.

Tariffs Rattle North American Auto Value Chains, With Billions of Dollars in Exposure for U.S. Auto Companies

Key takeaways

The United States placed 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, effective March 4, 2025, scrambling the highly integrated North American auto parts market. An Altana analysis of thousands of U.S. importers across 22 tariff codes shows billions of dollars in exposure for U.S. auto companies.

U.S. importers of auto body parts face $24.8 billion in exposure under the new 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, the single hardest-hit component category in Altana's analysis.
Brakes and brake parts carry $12.8 billion in tariff exposure for U.S. importers, with more than 600 importers relying on these components.
Altana analyzed value chain data for thousands of U.S. importers across 22 six-digit tariff codes covering 2024, spanning components from spark plugs and wipers to brakes, suspension systems, and shock absorbers.
The Mexico-to-U.S. auto trade lane is more diversified across auto components than the Canada-to-U.S. lane, which is made up mostly of reciprocating piston engines.

President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, which went into effect on March 4, 2025, with a one month reprive for U.S. automakers, will scramble the highly integrated, multi-billion dollar North American auto parts market when implemented. They will raise costs for thousands of importers and upend trade of the components that make up the U.S.’s most popular vehicles, an Altana analysis reveals.

Whether or not it forces investment in domestic manufacturing as intended, the tariffs will hit thousands of U.S. automakers, engineering facilities, parts suppliers and repair shops who will soon be paying more for auto parts from two of America’s largest trading partners.

To get a handle on the breadth and depth of the tariffs' impact, Altana analyzed value chain data for thousands U.S. importers of auto components under 22 six-digit tariff codes. The analysis covered the year 2024, with the analyzed codes corresponding to an assortment of vital auto components, from spark plugs and wipers to brakes and servo parts to suspension systems and shock absorbers.

Most affected tariff codes, north american auto supply chain

Thousands of Affected U.S. Importers Rely on Range of Auto Components

Across both trade lanes, hardest hit categories are:

A catch-all code for auto body parts ($24.8 billion in exposure, HS6 code 870829)
Brakes and brake parts ($12.8 billion in exposure, HS6 code 870830)
Reciprocating piston engines, which convert high temperature and high pressure into a rotating motion ($7.9 billion in exposure, HS6 code 840734)

A range of importers rely on these parts to fulfill their role in the auto supply chain. For just the three hardest hit categories, there are more than 2,000 importers for the catch-all autobody code, more than 600 importers of brakes and brake parts, and 57 importers of the piston engines, the analysis revealed.

Beyond the difference in volume of imports, Altana’s analysis also found that the Mexico to U.S. auto trade lane is more diversified across auto components than the Canada to U.S. trade lane, which is mostly made up of piston engines.

Mastering Tariffs With Altana's Tariff Scenario Planner

Without deep visibility into product-level value chains, automakers risk significant financial and operational disruption. Adjusting to tariffs means being able to quantify risk, adjust sourcing strategies, and build more resilient, profitable supply chains with precision and speed.

Altana’s product network, built with artificial intelligence, provides a dynamic, intelligent, universal map of the entire global supply chain using first-party intelligence. The result is a shared source of truth on the global supply chain, informed by the data of many of the world’s largest organizations — and the only product network connecting buyers, suppliers, logistics service providers, and regulators.

With Altana, you can:

Visualize and analyze your value chain connections, identifying hidden relationships and risks.
Collaborate with partners across your value chains to build more resilient, compliant, and cost-effective product lines.
Request, share, and link product information across your supplier network to build traceability upstream and downstream, saving time gathering product information, resolving risk by adding proof of compliance.

Specifically, our new Tariff Scenario Planner helps you navigate trade volatility with precision and speed — powered by the most comprehensive view of your product-level, multi-tier value chains.

Unlike other solutions that rely on fragmented data, Altana’s Planner is built on your product networks. This enables you to make faster, more informed trade decisions that drive profitability while competitors scramble for answers.

With our Tariff Scenario Planner, you can:

Pinpoint exposure: See the precise share of your product costs impacted by the new tariffs, down to the shipment level.
Prioritize supplier relationships: Identify which suppliers pose the highest cost risk, so you can execute the right diversification strategy.
Find alternative sources faster: Search for qualified suppliers outside of affected trade lanes to reduce risk and maintain supply continuity.

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See Altana's Tariff Scenario Planner in action.

FAQs

The 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico expose U.S. auto importers to billions of dollars in added costs. Altana's analysis found $24.8 billion in exposure for auto body parts, $12.8 billion for brakes and brake parts, and $7.9 billion for reciprocating piston engines. These three categories alone affect thousands of importers.
The 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico went into effect on March 4, 2025. U.S. automakers received a one-month reprieve before the tariffs applied to them.
The hardest-hit categories are a catch-all code for auto body parts with $24.8 billion in exposure, brakes and brake parts with $12.8 billion, and reciprocating piston engines with $7.9 billion. The auto body parts code alone involves more than 2,000 importers, while brakes involve more than 600 and piston engines 57.

The tariffs affect thousands of U.S. automakers, engineering facilities, parts suppliers, and repair shops that buy auto components from Canada and Mexico. They will pay more for parts from two of America's largest trading partners, raising costs across the auto value chain.
Altana's Tariff Scenario Planner shows the precise share of product costs hit by new tariffs, down to the shipment level. It helps companies identify which suppliers pose the highest cost risk and find qualified alternative suppliers outside affected trade lanes. The Planner is built on a company's own product-level, multi-tier value chains rather than fragmented data.