The Center for Automotive Research (CAR) Management Briefing Seminars 2026 held 15-16 June had a so called roundtable series that convened automotive experts from the U.S. and Canada to discuss one of the industry’s most pressing challenges: how tariffs are redefining manufacturing, supply chains, and the future of North American competitiveness. Participants included automakers, suppliers, researchers, and representatives from Canada and the United States for a dialogue on the trade and operational strains facing the auto industry resulting from tariffs.
King Trump’s latest tariff tirade against Canada threatens a 50% tariff on Canadian goods. [Currently there is a 25% levy on non-US content on Canadian-assembled passenger vehicles, components not covered under the existing but up for renewal North American free trade pact (USMCA). There are also steel tariffs, which indirectly affect the industry. All of these will soar if Trump follows through with a looming 50% increase on Canadian goods, including autos in August. These issues make the CAR findings expressly relevant in AutoInformed’s view.] The CAR analysis bared a critical point for the North American automotive industry. Key issues centered around the consequences of tariffs on automakers and the increasing strain on the supply base. AutoInformed’s conclusions is that the King has no clothes. Read more AutoInformed coverage on related topics below – AutoCrat.*
CAR’s Summary [Lightly Edited]
Operational Pain Points: Administration and policy turnover has strained domestic suppliers and forced the industry to preserve short-term profits at the cost of future advancements. Participants expressed the following:
- Instantaneous Implementation: The near instantaneous implementation of tariffs rather than a phased-in approach that accounts for the long time frames required for on-shoring production creates challenges for investment planning.
- Pre-existing Pressure: The industry was already in a fragile state from supply chain disruptions and stranded capital due to the EV slowdown.
- Tariffs add additional pressure that limits capital expenditure and forces cost-cutting measures.
- Upstream Tooling Challenges: Lead times for domestically-produced machinery and tools have doubled, and Tier 3 and 4 suppliers are unable to afford necessary tooling, thereby increasing domestic reliance on the global market.
Innovation Drain: To preserve margins and minimize tariffs being passed through onto price, automakers and suppliers are delaying programs and making cuts to R&D and human capital. The automotive sector is losing talent to more lucrative tech industry jobs and stalling the innovation engine required for long-term success.
Structural Paralysis: Participants identified several interconnected challenges that exacerbate investment uncertainty, including evolving tariff policies, the costs of retooling, an aging workforce in critical technical occupations, and increasing complexity and costs associated with supply chain tracking requirements.
Automaker-Supplier Relationship Strain: Suppliers are absorbing tariff costs to preserve relationships and avoid losing business. This is unsustainable: suppliers are quietly accumulating financial pressure, which weighs on long-standing automaker partnerships.
Regional Fragility and USMCA Implications:
Participants reported that North American unification is required to be globally competitive and regional infighting is a self-inflicted burden that only benefits the global competition.
Allied Impact: Tariffs often act as blunt instruments, inadvertently penalizing North American allies. For example, over half the content in vehicles assembled in Canada originates from within the U.S. compared to the slight-to-none contained in imported vehicles from overseas. Yet, current tariff policy effectively treats these vehicles the same.
State Disparities: The Great Lakes region, Michigan in particular, is disproportionately impacted by the United States’ tariff policies against Canada and the resulting retaliatory tariffs. States with large automotive footprints shoulder more of the economic burden.
Regional Synergy: Each country brings its own unique strengths to the table. Together, the combined capabilities of these three countries represent a powerful and unified partnership that stabilizes the regional supply base against global competition.
Strategic Recommendations for Policy Engagement: Federal policy needs to align with the industry’s operational needs. Participants identified opportunities for sustainability and competitiveness in the following areas:
- Phased Policy: Use tariffs as a tool with phased implementation to allow for feasible re-shoring and preventing destabilization.
- Advanced Manufacturing: Focus on leveraging high-value automation to boost production speed and offset U.S. labor shortages while maintaining global leadership in innovation and advanced manufacturing.
- Regulatory Refinement: Leverage Canada’s streamlined permitting process and revisit complex compliance requirements for in-region trade.
Future Trade Agreement: The United States cannot be globally competitive alone. A tri-lateral trade deal that enables a cohesive North American region will be critical to the long-term sustainability of the domestic automotive industry.
Conclusions
“The Center for Automotive Research Tariff roundtable highlighted the importance of sustained collaboration among automakers, suppliers, researchers, and policymakers to work through the industry’s biggest challenges. While re-shoring manufacturing capacity is a key objective of the U.S. tariffs, the success of the automotive industry depends on consistent industrial policy and a collaborative North American strategy,” CAR said.
AutoInformed couldn’t agree more.
*AutoInformed on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
CAR on King Trump’s Tariff and Trade Policies
The Center for Automotive Research (CAR) Management Briefing Seminars 2026 held 15-16 June had a so called roundtable series that convened automotive experts from the U.S. and Canada to discuss one of the industry’s most pressing challenges: how tariffs are redefining manufacturing, supply chains, and the future of North American competitiveness. Participants included automakers, suppliers, researchers, and representatives from Canada and the United States for a dialogue on the trade and operational strains facing the auto industry resulting from tariffs.
King Trump’s latest tariff tirade against Canada threatens a 50% tariff on Canadian goods. [Currently there is a 25% levy on non-US content on Canadian-assembled passenger vehicles, components not covered under the existing but up for renewal North American free trade pact (USMCA). There are also steel tariffs, which indirectly affect the industry. All of these will soar if Trump follows through with a looming 50% increase on Canadian goods, including autos in August. These issues make the CAR findings expressly relevant in AutoInformed’s view.] The CAR analysis bared a critical point for the North American automotive industry. Key issues centered around the consequences of tariffs on automakers and the increasing strain on the supply base. AutoInformed’s conclusions is that the King has no clothes. Read more AutoInformed coverage on related topics below – AutoCrat.*
CAR’s Summary [Lightly Edited]
Operational Pain Points: Administration and policy turnover has strained domestic suppliers and forced the industry to preserve short-term profits at the cost of future advancements. Participants expressed the following:
Innovation Drain: To preserve margins and minimize tariffs being passed through onto price, automakers and suppliers are delaying programs and making cuts to R&D and human capital. The automotive sector is losing talent to more lucrative tech industry jobs and stalling the innovation engine required for long-term success.
Structural Paralysis: Participants identified several interconnected challenges that exacerbate investment uncertainty, including evolving tariff policies, the costs of retooling, an aging workforce in critical technical occupations, and increasing complexity and costs associated with supply chain tracking requirements.
Automaker-Supplier Relationship Strain: Suppliers are absorbing tariff costs to preserve relationships and avoid losing business. This is unsustainable: suppliers are quietly accumulating financial pressure, which weighs on long-standing automaker partnerships.
Regional Fragility and USMCA Implications:
Participants reported that North American unification is required to be globally competitive and regional infighting is a self-inflicted burden that only benefits the global competition.
Allied Impact: Tariffs often act as blunt instruments, inadvertently penalizing North American allies. For example, over half the content in vehicles assembled in Canada originates from within the U.S. compared to the slight-to-none contained in imported vehicles from overseas. Yet, current tariff policy effectively treats these vehicles the same.
State Disparities: The Great Lakes region, Michigan in particular, is disproportionately impacted by the United States’ tariff policies against Canada and the resulting retaliatory tariffs. States with large automotive footprints shoulder more of the economic burden.
Regional Synergy: Each country brings its own unique strengths to the table. Together, the combined capabilities of these three countries represent a powerful and unified partnership that stabilizes the regional supply base against global competition.
Strategic Recommendations for Policy Engagement: Federal policy needs to align with the industry’s operational needs. Participants identified opportunities for sustainability and competitiveness in the following areas:
Future Trade Agreement: The United States cannot be globally competitive alone. A tri-lateral trade deal that enables a cohesive North American region will be critical to the long-term sustainability of the domestic automotive industry.
Conclusions
“The Center for Automotive Research Tariff roundtable highlighted the importance of sustained collaboration among automakers, suppliers, researchers, and policymakers to work through the industry’s biggest challenges. While re-shoring manufacturing capacity is a key objective of the U.S. tariffs, the success of the automotive industry depends on consistent industrial policy and a collaborative North American strategy,” CAR said.
AutoInformed couldn’t agree more.
*AutoInformed on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.