U.S. proposes 50% American-made autos leading into CUSMA trade talks

We want to make our own cars.We don't really want cars from Canada.

It's been a common refrain from the president.

They would let car companies leave here and go to Canada.But that hurts the United States.

A line Donald Trump has repeated multiple times since returning to the White House viewed as an ominous sign ahead of free trade talks.But a new report from Wall Street Journal shows the Americans might be backing down on cars.The Trump administration is expected to propose that 50 percent of components of any automobile need to be U .S.made to qualify the product as tariff free.That might sound like a lot, but the Canadian Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association says that's already happening.

In 2019, the average U .S.content in a Canadian vehicle was 38%.Using U .S.data, we crunched the numbers, and that number at the end of 2024 was 50%.

The Trump administration also wanting 82 % of a car to either be made in Canada, the U .S., or Mexico, according to Reuters.That would be up from 75 % from the previous free trade deal.

There are some off ramps on this, things that are possible for automotive that are quantifiably beneficial to the U .S., but don't necessarily come at the expense of a Canadian interest.

While those rules could work out for the Canadian auto sector, it's just one of many issues that still need to be hashed out.Mexico and the U .S.have started formal trade talks, but Canada has been left out.

The Liberals insist informal talks are taking place, but that's not enough for the Conservatives.While the Mexicans are at the negotiating table eating our lunch on auto negotiations.

While these auto proposals are not guaranteed to get into a potential final agreement, you can expect a further list of grievances on Monday when the Americans will formally lay out their trade irritants with both Canada and Mexico.