"Betting" on Trump’s concession? Car companies collectively suspend shipments, U.S. ports are already filled with imported cars!

As the trade war under the Trump administration escalates, global automakers are facing an unprecedented supply chain crisis. Three executives from the logistics and automotive industries revealed to the Financial Times that some automakers have requested to hold vehicles arriving after the tariffs take effect at U.S. ports, delaying their entry into the U.S. Due to high port detention fees, automakers are also trying to transfer vehicles to U.S. bonded warehouses, where manufacturers can temporarily store products without incurring tariffs. Industry experts warn that if U.S. tariff policies do not soften, the backlog of imported vehicles at U.S. ports will become "quite ugly," and ports will "fill up quickly" within weeks. Many industry executives still hope that the tariffs imposed by Trump on imported cars will not last too long, prompting some automakers to temporarily halt shipments of cars from European factories or ports. Brands such as Audi, Jaguar Land Rover, and Aston Martin have suspended or minimized shipments to the U.S. in April, betting that their current inventory in the U.S. is sufficient to meet market demand in the short term. In Germany, the Port of Bremen, one of the largest automotive ports in the world, expects to lose up to 50% of its vehicle shipments to and from the U.S.—the U.S. market accounts for nearly one-third of its total automotive shipments. A logistics executive stated, "The current strategy is to wait and see," as automakers are observing "whether the U.S. can reach some sort of compromise with its trading partners." Due to the uncertainty surrounding the duration of the tariffs and potential retaliatory measures from other countries, automakers have not made long-term production decisions. According to CCTV News, on April 3 local time, U.S. President Trump signed two executive orders regarding so-called "reciprocal tariffs" at the White House, announcing a 10% "minimum baseline tariff" on trade partners and imposing higher tariffs on certain trading partners. Trump also announced a 25% tariff on imported cars. According to a White House statement, some goods will be exempt from the "reciprocal tariffs," including steel and aluminum products already subject to Section 232 tariffs, cars and automotive parts. Currently, automakers are trying to figure out the source of each component in their vehicles, a process that is extremely difficult and time-consuming due to the complexity and global nature of the automotive supply chain. Some German automotive executives stated that many companies are still trying to determine how tariffs will be specifically applied and which automotive parts can qualify for exemptions. "Does 'parts' refer to the engine, or every screw in the engine?" the executive questioned