One Piston Crosses Six Borders Before It Powers Your American-Made Truck
All or part of the added cost from tariffs or US reshoring will ultimately be passed to consumers
https://www.carscoops.com/author/thanos-pappas/
by Thanos Pappas
Vehicles built in the States use many foreign-sourced parts, exposing them to tariffs.
For example, the Ford F-150 uses components sourced from over 24 countries outside the US.
Changing a vehicle’s entire production and supply chain is costly and time-consuming.
For decades, the American auto industry has thrived on a delicate balance of domestic assembly and global sourcing. That balance just got a lot more expensive. President Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff for all imported vehicles, while declaring that US-made cars and trucks will have “absolutely no tariff”. The problem is that no vehicle is entirely made in the US, meaning that none is 100% safe from tariffs.
For decades, the American auto industry has thrived on a delicate balance of domestic assembly and global sourcing. That balance just got a lot more expensive.
President Donald Trump recently announced a 25% tariff on all imported vehicles, while declaring that American-made cars and trucks will have “absolutely no tariff.” The problem is that no vehicle is entirely made in the US, which means none are fully safe from the hit. And while cars and auto parts have so far avoided multiple layers of stacked reciprocal tariffs, the flat 25% is still a major blow, regardless of where the vehicle’s final assembly happens.
Roughly 53% of new vehicles sold in the US are built domestically. That sounds decent on paper. But many of the thousands of components that go into those vehicles are sourced from other countries, often crossing borders multiple times before final assembly. Every crossing under the new policy will likely carry a fresh tariff, compounding costs with each trip.
Made in the USA, with a Little Help from Everywhere Else
Special Assistant to the President and Principal Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields recently clarified the scope: “The 25% tariff will be applied to imported passenger vehicles (sedans, SUVs, crossovers, minivans, cargo vans) and light trucks as well as key automobile parts (engines, transmissions, powertrain parts, and electrical components), with processes to expand tariffs on additional parts if necessary.”
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In practice, this means an automaker would need to overhaul its entire production and supply chain just to fully dodge tariffs—a massive, costly undertaking that might not even be feasible. Either way, consumers can expect to shoulder some of that burden, whether it’s from increased production costs or higher sticker prices.
The Wall Street Journal recently shared a video using the 2024 Ford F-150 as an example. It’s assembled in Michigan and Missouri, but it’s a global effort. Tires come from South Korea, alloy wheels from Mexico, half-shafts from Canada—just to name a few. In total, over two dozen countries contribute to the parts mix of America’s best-selling truck.
As reported by NBC News, major American brands rely heavily on complex global supply chains for their US-made vehicles. According to Dan Ives, global head of technology research at financial services firm Wedbush Securities, the percentage of foreign parts in the US automotive industry is around 40%, adding that “US-made cars with all US parts is a fictional tale”.
One Piston Rod, Six Border Crossings
That global interdependence becomes even more obvious when you follow the path of a single part. The WSJ tracked the journey of a piston rod—hardly the most glamorous piece of hardware—and revealed just how tangled things really are.
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It starts with raw aluminum in Michigan, which heads to Ontario to be cast and pre-machined. Then it returns to the USAfor finishing, travels to Mexico for further processing, swings back north to Wisconsin for assembly with connecting rods and rings, and ends up back in Michigan for installation into an engine. That engine is then shipped to Ontario, where it’s finally dropped into a finished vehicle bound for the USA or Mexico.
That’s a total of six international crossings for one component alone, with six potential tariff hits if Mexico and Canada retaliate—and six reminders of how fragile global supply chains can be when policy changes overnight.
Sticker Shock Incoming
According to estimates from Cox Automotive and Barclays, the tariff could add about $3,000 to the price of a US-made vehicle due to Mexico-Canada border crossings alone. Toss in another $400 from steel and aluminum tariffs, plus the still-evolving costs of additional part-specific duties or trade partner retaliation, and the final tally could climb even higher.
Supporters of the tariff argue it will create jobs by encouraging automakers to bring more manufacturing home. But analysts suggest the bigger shift could be toward automation rather than hiring. Building a new plant in the US doesn’t necessarily mean more human jobs—it may just mean more robots on the line.
On top of that, a temporary pause and exception on the Mexico-Canada tariffs has only added to the confusion. For manufacturers deciding whether to invest in reshoring their operations, the lack of consistency makes long-term planning difficult. Tariffs may be here now, but no one knows for how long—and the automotive industry doesn’t turn on a dime.
