[Source/Observer Network, Liu Huaizhen, Editor/Gao Shen] According to Yonhap News Agency, on May 1st, Stephen Miller, deputy director of the White House Office, expressed his views on the issue of U.S. auto tariffs at a White House press conference. Miller stated that the share of American automobiles in the world market is decreasing year by year, and without auto tariffs, the U.S. automotive industry will disappear within a few years.

Stephen Miller, deputy director of the White House Office, Reuters

Regarding the changes in the U.S. automotive industry, Miller said: "The United States has opened its market to every foreign cheat and to all goods receiving government subsidies. This has made the United States' share of the global automotive market drop from a high of 70%, to only a small part of the current global market."

Following this, Miller began to talk about the trade deficit in U.S. automobile trade: "The EU, Japan, and South Korea have closed their markets to U.S. automobiles, and these regions have hundreds of billions of dollars in trade deficits with the U.S. annually in automobile trade."

Regarding automobile trade with the EU, Japan, and South Korea, Miller claimed, "Because the per capita GDP of the U.S., EU, Japan, and South Korea are similar, yet there is a huge trade imbalance in automobiles, there must be unfair trade practices involved. If you want to sell cars in the U.S. without paying taxes, you must produce them in factories in the U.S., which is the only way."

Miller explained: "Without auto tariffs, the U.S. automotive industry will disappear within a few years because American auto companies have been transferring production to Mexico, believing it to be cheaper to produce there."

The U.S. is the largest export market for the EU, Japan, and South Korea. In 2024, the total EU exports to the U.S. amounted to 38.9 billion euros (approximately 320.9 billion RMB), accounting for 24% of its total car exports; Japan's auto exports to the U.S. amounted to 6.26 trillion yen (approximately 318.8 billion RMB), representing approximately 30% of its total auto exports; South Korea's total auto exports to the U.S. amounted to 34.7 billion USD (approximately 252.3 billion RMB), accounting for 49% of its total auto exports.

It is reported that the EU, Japan, and South Korea are all negotiating tariff issues with the U.S., but so far no agreements have been reached.

In response to whether U.S. consumers would pay higher costs due to domestically produced vehicles, Miller stated, "No. Now, manufacturers have strong incentives to build factories in the U.S. because whatever they produce here, they won't be taxed."

However, on the same day, General Motors announced a downward revision of its profit outlook and warned that Trump's tariff policies could result in losses of up to 5 billion USD (approximately 36.4 billion RMB) for General Motors by 2025.

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Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7500402817996358182/

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