PERSONAL: 'I really don't have a problem with them': Georgia auto parts store owner supports Trump tariffs

Record ID: 1986281

  • Title: PERSONAL: 'I really don't have a problem with them': Georgia auto parts store owner supports Trump tariffs
  • Date: 27th March 2025
  • Summary: AUSTELL, GEORGIA, UNITED STATES (MARCH 27, 2025) (REUTERS) ERNIE SIMMONS, 66, OWNER OF AFTERMARKET AUTO PARTS, PULLING A BOX OF CAR PARTS OFF THE SHELF VARIOUS OF SIMMONS OPENING THE BOX (SOUNDBITE) (English) ERNIE SIMMONS, 66, OWNER OF AFTERMARKET AUTO PARTS, SAYING: “Probably 90 percent of my product comes from Taiwan. It's a lot better quality than the stuff out of Chin
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: AUTO PARTS CANADA CAR ECONOMY JAPAN TAIWAN TARRIFFS TRADE TRUMP
  • Location: ATLANTA, AUSTELL AND ELLABELL, GEORGIA, UNITED STATES/TOLEDO, OHIO, UNITED STATES
  • City: ATLANTA, AUSTELL AND ELLABELL, GEORGIA, UNITED STATES/TOLEDO, OHIO, UNITED STATES
  • Country: US
  • Topics: North America,Government/Politics,International Trade
  • Reuters ID: LVA001221727032025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Georgia auto parts store owner Ernie Simmons says he is unfazed by U.S. President Donald Trump's upcoming 25% tariffs on imported cars and auto parts.
    “As far as the tariffs go, I really don't have a problem with them," says the 66-year-old, whose business, Aftermarket Auto Parts, near Atlanta, relies on imported car parts from Taiwan.
    "I think that they're going to be temporary because all that Trump is trying to do is make things equal. Whatever they charge us, we're going to charge.”
    Simmons, who sources 90% of his parts from Taiwan, says he is hopeful that the tariffs will push other countries to implement fair trade practices.
    “There's going to be some pressure on this for a little while, but I also believe that these countries will come to the realization that they're not going to get a free ride anymore," he said.
    "They're going to have to treat us when we export something to them the same way that we treat them when they import to us,” Simmons added.
    Trump on Wednesday (March 26) followed through on weeks of threats for new tariffs, saying a 25% import tax on vehicles not built in the U.S. would kick in next week, with duties on parts to follow no later than May 3.
    The 25% tariffs will apply to major automotive parts imports, identified in Trump's proclamation as "engines and engine parts, transmissions and powertrain parts, and electrical components." But parts duties may start up to a month later with a date to be set in a forthcoming Federal Register notice, but not later than May 3.
    However, vehicles and parts produced in the U.S. will be exempt from this tariff.
    Tibor Besedes, a professor of economics at Georgia Institute of Technology says the tariffs, if implemented, would create uncertainty for the industry.
    “Will there be a different administration four years down the road that might do away with them? In which case they (car companies) have to evaluate whether it makes sense to build a factory in the United States and then bring it on line, and that might take it or up to two years. And then what happens if tariffs go away? Because there's a reason why the supply chains are crossing borders and why a lot of production of parts is happening elsewhere, because cost of production to lower there," he said.
    Trump will impose a 25% tariff - on top of previous duties - on imports of finished vehicles starting at 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 GMT) on April 3. The base U.S. tariff rate for automotive imports is 2.5%.
    (Production: Jayla Whitfield-Anderson)
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