TRUMP HUMILIATED as MEXICO SHATTERS 30-Year Record: CANADA’s Auto Imports Signal a Trade Shift

TRUMP HUMILIATED as MEXICO SHATTERS 30-Year Record: CANADA’s Auto Imports Signal a Trade Shift

For the first time in over three decades, Canada is importing more vehicles from Mexico than from the United States—a historic shift in North American auto trade that reflects the far-reaching impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Statistics Canada reports that in June, Canadian importers purchased $1 billion in passenger vehicles from Mexico, surpassing the $950 million sourced from U.S. factories. Records dating back to the early 1990s had never shown Mexico outpacing the U.S. in Canadian auto exports.
The reversal comes in the wake of Trump’s sweeping 25% tariff on imported vehicles, implemented on April 3rd, 2025, under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act. Framed as a national security measure, the tariffs disrupted the previously seamless flow of cars and parts across North America under the USMCA. While vehicles meeting USMCA rules of origin enjoy partial relief, the broader trade friction has strained U.S.-Canada auto ties, raising questions about long-term industry patterns.
Canada has traditionally been a major buyer of U.S.-made cars and light trucks. In 2024, U.S. auto exports to Canada exceeded combined exports to Germany, Mexico, and China. Automakers like General Motors and Ford have long supplied the Canadian market from U.S. plants, reflecting decades of integrated North American production. Even Canada’s domestic assembly capacity has leaned heavily on U.S. supply chains, with GM’s Cammy plant producing electric vans and Oshawa turning out Silverado pickups, while Ford’s Oakville assembly complex lies idle—though a $3 billion revival is planned for 2026 to produce F-Series Superduty trucks.
Meanwhile, U.S. automakers are responding strategically. GM is investing roughly $4 billion over two years to expand assembly operations in Michigan, Kansas, and Tennessee, aiming to shift SUV and pickup truck production back to U.S. soil and reduce reliance on Mexican and Canadian output. These moves highlight how tariffs and political uncertainty are reshaping production decisions and supply chains that for decades moved freely across the continent.
Yet some analysts warn that Mexico’s top spot may be temporary. In the months leading up to the tariffs, Canadian purchases of U.S. vehicles surged as manufacturers rushed shipments, temporarily inflating numbers. While higher costs have not yet fully reached consumers, economists caution that the impact is on the horizon.
Harvard economist Alberto Cavallo notes that importers have absorbed tariff costs so far, delaying price hikes. Companies like GM reported billions in lost profits but have opted to shield consumers—for now. History shows that such measures eventually filter through to prices, either directly or through subtle mechanisms like shrinkflation, skimpflation, or disappearing products. Once stockpiles are depleted, consumers may feel the full weight of higher costs, reduced quality, and fewer options.
The story unfolding in Canada’s auto market is a vivid illustration of tariffs’ ripple effects, revealing how trade policies, political uncertainty, and supply chain realignments can alter longstanding economic patterns. For Canadian drivers and North American automakers alike, the full consequences of this historic shift are only beginning to emerge.

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