Commerce secretary says it is 'no big deal' that Trump's tariffs will add $175 to price of car

The US commerce secretary has said Donald Trump’s proposed trade tariffs are “no big deal” as they will only increase the cost of an average car by $175.

In an interview with CNBC, Wilbur Ross also used a tin of Campbell’s soup and a can of Budweiser to demonstrate how Trump’s plan to introduce a 25% import tax on steel and a 10% import tax on aluminium would have minimal impact on consumers.

Republican members of Congress have criticized Trump’s tariffs, with the House speaker, Paul Ryan, saying the import taxes could have “unintended consequences”.

Ross told CNBC that there is “about 1 ton of steel in a car”, NBC’s Carl Quintanilla reported.

“The price of a ton of steel is $700 or so, so 25% on that would be one half of 1% price increase on the typical $35,000 car. So it’s no big deal,” Ross said.

Using Ross’s math, the increase would be $175.

 Source : theguardian