WASHINGTON (Kyodo) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he will start imposing next week an additional 25 percent tariff on all automobiles made outside his country, not exempting Japan or any other trading partner from the measure that could disrupt supply chains and dent economic growth globally.

The White House said the higher tariff, targeting all types of imported passenger vehicles and light trucks, will take effect on April 3. The same rate of import tax will be applied to certain auto components, including engines, transmissions and powertrain parts.

"We're going to charge countries for doing business in our country and taking our jobs, taking our wealth, taking a lot of things," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "They've taken so much out of our country, friend and foe alike. And frankly, friend has been oftentimes much worse than foe."

Trump said he will maintain the tariff, up from the current 2.5 percent for passenger vehicles, for the length of his term in an attempt to revitalize domestic manufacturing, attract more investment into the United States and add what he claims will be more than $100 billion of annual tax revenue.

"I think our automobile business will flourish like it's never flourished before," he said.

A White House official said the tariff increase means the new tax will be 27.5 percent on passenger vehicles and 50 percent on light trucks. As for key auto components, the proclamation signed by Trump granted up to a one-month reprieve until May 3.

Trump's latest trade action could significantly affect Japanese, German, South Korean and other foreign carmakers, as well as their American rivals, which also produce a significant percentage of their vehicles outside the United States and procure parts from around the world.

Last year, Japan shipped more than 6 trillion yen ($40 billion) worth of vehicles to the United States, accounting for 28.3 percent, or the largest portion, of its total exports to the world's largest economy, according to Japanese trade data.

Of the roughly 16 million new vehicles sold in the United States in 2024, about 50 percent were imports, the White House official said, adding when it comes to the remaining 8 million units, more than half were produced with foreign parts.

The official said it means only about 25 percent of vehicles and components can be categorized as made in the United States, complaining that the country, once a manufacturing power, has become a place where cars are merely assembled.

Mexico, where many automakers produce cars to take advantage of cheaper labor, was the largest exporter of vehicles to the United States in 2024. It shipped about 2.96 million units, followed by South Korea with 1.54 million units, Japan with 1.38 million units and Canada with 1.07 million units, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The official suggested that the new tariff on engines and other key components would be as impactful as that on cars, as foreign carmakers bring those high-value parts from their own countries rather than making them in the United States.

Due to the complex supply chains in the auto industry, involving numerous suppliers, and the requirement for manufacturers to make huge investments in technology and plants before they roll out new models, it is not a quick or easy process to relocate car production to new lines in the United States, as desired by Trump.

Additionally, many mainstream economists have warned that higher tariffs will likely result in increased costs not only for manufacturers but also for consumers.

The legal basis for the additional auto tariff is a probe conducted under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 during Trump's first term, according to the White House.

Trump used the law to examine auto imports in 2019 and concluded that the quantity of foreign-made vehicles being brought into the country undermines U.S. national security.

However, he stopped short of imposing any tariffs at the time, partly because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which posed serious supply chain difficulties across the world.

Trump's auto tariff announcement came before he plans to unleash broader reciprocal tariffs, targeting goods from countries around the world with matching duties, on April 2.

He labels that date as "liberation day," repeatedly claiming that the United States has been "ripped off" by its allies and adversaries for many years.

Since returning to the White House for a nonconsecutive second presidency about two months ago, Trump has announced various types of tariffs.

They include 20 percent additional duties on goods from China and 25 percent levies on all steel and aluminum imports.

The Trump administration's 25 percent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, announced despite the North American free trade pact, briefly took effect in early March, but are now paused until April 2.

(By Takuya Karube)