In a major setback to the US, British luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover has said that it will halt all of its automobile exports from the United Kingdom to Washington for a month in protest against President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.
This comes as Trump stated in late March that all cars entering the US will be subject to a new 25 percent tax, which took effect on Thursday. On the Liberation Day, Trump announced another round of tariffs and implemented a 10 percent “baseline” tariff on imports. However, much higher “discounted reciprocal tariffs” were applied to other nations, excluding the United Kingdom.
“This is very modest, and what we’re going to be doing is a 25-percent tariff on all cars that are not made in the United States. If they’re made in the United States, there’s absolutely no tariff. This is permanent, yeah, 100 percent,” he stated.
On Friday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stated that the tariffs will probably increase inflation as some businesses raised their pricing to offset the levies while others, like Jaguar Land Rover, halted exports to the United States.
Jaguar Land Rover issues statement
According to the Times of London, Jaguar Land Rover, which ships almost 100,000 cars to the US annually, has suspended shipments from its primary UK plants to the US for a month in an effort to assess the effects of Trump’s tariffs.
Jaguar Land Rover shipped 431,733 cars in 2024, as per company’s data.
In addition to about 6,000 employees worldwide, Jaguar Land Rover has 38,000 employees in Britain, where it mostly runs its operations. The Ranger Rover Sport and Rover Defender SUVs are among its best-selling models in the US.
In response to its announcement, the firm stated that it has “no current plans” to reduce staff.
America accounted for $6.5 billion of Jaguar Land Rover’s $30 billion in sales in the year ending March 2024, making it the automaker’s greatest single market, surpassing China at $5.4 billion and the United Kingdom at $5 billion. Tata Motors, an Indian business, has owned Jaguar Land Rover since 2008.
“Our luxury brands have global appeal, and our business is resilient, accustomed to changing market conditions,” Jaguar Land Rover said in a statement, adding that their current top priority is meeting the new US trading terms and providing for global clientele.
What happens next
Due to transit times, American consumers are unlikely to notice a shortage of Jaguar Land Rover items right away, but dealers may eventually find it more difficult to locate these products. This problem should be resolved if the business chooses to start exporting to the US again after a month, albeit prices might increase to offset the duties.
