There is no national- security case for auto-import tariffs

See Attack of the Killer Audis. WSJ editorial. Excerpts:

"There is no plausible Section 232 case that foreign cars or car parts are a military threat. About $145 million of U.S. defense dollars in 2016—0.02% of spending—went to auto manufacturers and much of this was for civilian purposes.

The United Auto Workers union argues that the U.S. needs to be prepared for a World War II-style mobilization when auto plants “quickly changed from producing civilian cars to Jeeps, tanks and bombers.” But even if the U.S. did have to ramp up defense production, we have far more manufacturing capacity than during World War II, including 14 more auto-assembly plants. Allies could also assist.

As for the “economic welfare” argument, not even American carmakers support Mr. Trump’s tariffs on foreign cars. Detroit’s trucks and vans are already protected by a 25% tariff. And U.S. automakers have largely stopped producing passenger cars for the U.S. market because trucks and SUVs are far more profitable.

GM opposes Mr. Trump’s proposal for a 20% tariff and explained in a public comment to Commerce last week that raising prices to cover the higher cost of imported auto parts would reduce sales. The alternative, GM writes, is to reduce investment, which would result in a smaller workforce and “could delay breakthrough technologies and threaten U.S. leadership in the next generation of automotive technology.” That harm to innovation would be a far greater threat to national security than Audi sedans.

American auto-manufacturing has never been more competitive, and the overwhelming evidence is that the tariffs would hurt the U.S. auto industry and economy. Automotive jobs have increased by about a third since Nafta was ratified and are 100,000 above the peak before the 2008-2009 recession. Much of the job growth is driven by foreign manufacturers and imports. About 40% of the content in Mexican imports was made in the U.S. Cross-border supply chains improve efficiency and create jobs in both countries."

"A big risk is that the President’s tariffs will hurt exports by triggering retaliation."

"a 25% tariff on autos and auto-parts would reduce U.S. production by 1.5% and cost 195,000 job in the industry. If other countries retaliated, 624,000 jobs would be lost."

"Consumers would also have to pay about $5,000 to $6,000 more for a car"