Impacted by the United States' import car tariff policy, the Stellantis Group announced on April 3 (local time) that it would temporarily halt production at certain assembly plants in Canada and Mexico, resulting in the layoff of approximately 900 employees in the United States.

The production suspension affects the Windsor Assembly Plant in Ontario, Canada, which will be halted for two weeks, and the Toluca Assembly Plant in Mexico, which will be suspended for one month.

The layoffs will affect five Stellantis plants in the United States, including the Warren Stamping Plant and Sterling Stamping Plant in Michigan, as well as the Indiana Transmission Plant, Kokomo Transmission Plant, and Kokomo Foundry Plant in Indiana.

Stellantis explicitly stated that the decision to suspend production and lay off employees is due to the adverse effects of the Trump administration's auto tariff policy in the United States, which has significantly increased the company's production costs, particularly for parts and completed vehicles imported from Canada and Mexico.

It is noteworthy that the 25% tariff on imported cars imposed by the Trump administration officially came into effect on April 3. Vehicles manufactured in Mexico and Canada are still subject to this tariff. However, automakers that comply with the terms of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) can deduct the value of American components in their vehicles to mitigate their tax burden. Additionally, a 25% tariff on imported auto parts will take effect on May 3.

Lana Payne, the president of the Canadian Union Unifor, cautioned that Trump's tariff policy will immediately harm auto workers and undermine the tightly interconnected nature of the North American production system.

A recent report revealed that on the morning of April 10, Beijing time, US President Trump announced on the social media platform Truth Social that he would implement a 90-day tariff suspension measure on over 75 countries, reducing reciprocal tariffs to 10% during this period. However, this did not reverse the 25% tariff increase on imported cars and auto parts. This move has garnered sharp criticism from business and automotive industry organizations in Michigan, USA.

In response to Trump's auto tariff policy, Canada has enacted countermeasures. According to Bloomberg, Canada will impose import tariffs of up to 25% on cars assembled in the United States, while auto parts from Mexico will be exempt from taxes.

Specifically, if a car is assembled in a US factory with 80% of its parts manufactured in the United States and 20% in Mexico or Canada, Canada's retaliatory 25% tariff will only apply to the US-made parts, resulting in a total tariff rate of 20%. Conversely, if the manufacturing and shipping provisions of the USMCA are not adhered to, the tariff rate on US-made cars in Canada will rise to 25%.