by Mike –
Today I received the email below from Mark Hyman at Hyman Ltd. and I received a similar email from Martin E. Button of Cosdel International Transportation.
They point out something the US government is thinking about…
From The Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 104 / Wednesday, May 30, 2018 / Notices
On May 23, 2018, the Secretary of Commerce initiated an investigation to determine the effects on the national security of imports of automobiles, including cars, SUVs, vans and light trucks, and automotive parts.
National security and cars, SUVs, vans and light trucks, and automotive parts? Hmmm – makes you think, no?
Some US government officials clearly do not have enough real work to do or they do not understand what they should be doing.
I think this is an issue everyone in the classic and collector car community should know about and take action on.
This could cause financial stress on anyone trying to sell a vehicle into the US or anyone trying to buy a vehicle to be imported into the US.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Email from Mark Hyman
It has been brought to our attention by Marshall Miller of Miller & Company P.C. that on May 23, 2018, the Department of Commerce published a Notice of Request for Public Comment regarding Section 232, investigation into the importation of automobiles and their effect on National Security. Details of which can be found HERE.
Simply put, President Trump is considering action by Proclamation to apply an import duty of 25% on ALL automobiles (this includes cars, SUVs, vans and light trucks), AND parts, regardless of age or origin. This would mean a 25% duty on ANY car – whether it be brand new or 100 years old. As automobile enthusiasts and professionals in the industry, we strongly urge you to vehemently oppose this unfair, dubious tax.
America currently applies a 2.5% duty on imported cars, which is waived on those of American origin. Under Trump’s proposal, we face a tenfold increase, which will surely cause retaliation from the European Union in the same manner the recent steel tariffs has proven.
Clearly, the importation of classic and collectible vehicles has absolutely no impact on our National Security, and these proposed tariffs would only serve to harm the countless individuals and independent businesses who buy, sell, restore and transport cars. The collector car hobby is a multi-billion dollar-per-year business, and we must work together to fight this ludicrous proposal. Washington bureaucrats have no understanding of the impact such a political stunt would cause, therefore it is our responsibility to educate them.
The purpose of this letter is to ask you all to join us in appealing to officials to remove any and all language related to “Used Automobiles and Parts”, and separate any content that could be perceived as pertaining to the collector car hobby from this proposed 25% tariff.
The process for commenting is simple:
Go to this link and click the COMMENT NOW button on the right of the page. It takes no more than a few minutes to support the separation of all language related to “used vehicles and parts” from the proposed tariff. The deadline for submitting comments is June 22, 2018.
In addition, we urge you to contact your Senators and Representatives to warn them of the adverse effects these proposed tariffs will have not only our beloved hobby, but more importantly the risk they pose to the thousands of passionate and hard-working Americans who make their living in the business of collector vehicles.
We send our sincerest thanks to Attorney Marshall Miller of Miller & Company P.C. for bringing this critical matter to our attention. Miller & Company are highly respected experts in all matters of international trade, and they can be contacted at this link. We thank you for your support and encourage you to act swiftly and share this letter on social media and among your friends in the hobby.
Sincerely,
Mark and The Team at Hyman Ltd.
~ Signed and shared.
I THINK OF THESE COLLECTOR CARS AS PIECES OF ART. WOULD THE GOVERNMENT EXPECT TO TAX ALL THE ART THAT PASSES BACK AND FORTH OUR SHORES? OF COURSE NOT. DO THESE CARS COMPETE WITH NEW CARS? ABSOLUTELY NOT ! SO, WHY THE BIG TAX?? THE PEOPLE WHO DREAM THIS CRAP UP ARE A BUNCH OF, KNOW NOTHINGS. LIKE THE ONES WHO BELIEVE, THAT ANY CAR OVER 25 YEARS OLD NEEDS TO PASS A SMOG TEST, LIKE IT CONTRIBUTES SO MUCH TO BAD AIR. HOW CAN IT WHEN, WHEN IT ONLY RUNS ABOUT 50 HOURS A YEAR, AT MOST, ON AVERAGE. WHY DON’T THESE PEOPLE;E EVER CONSULT WITH THE PEOPLE WHO KNOW AND RESPECT; CLASSIC, ANTIQUE, AND COLLECTOR CARS, BEFORE THEY GO CRAZY WITH THEIR STUPID LAWS??? GOD DAM IT !!!
Be careful calling cars art. First The IRS will tax it as that “ART” which is much higher than a car and second countries like Italy won’t allow their countries art to be sold outside of it’s borders. Recently there was a auction for some of the remaining Bertone art work and it all fell under the same law. Result – nothing left Italy. No outside bidders allowed. Everything is blown out of purgation these days. 18 months in and people still can’t get there minds around the fact that this is the way president Trump negotiates.
Oh my god the sky is falling, the sky is falling. Ahhh.
Three weeks ago everyone was crying because we’re all going to be killed in a nuclear attack from North Korea. Negotiations are in the very early stage but things look promising,
The EU taxes U.S. cars at 10 percent, 7.5 percentage points higher than the U.S. tariff on European autos.
As President Trump said “How about no Tariffs”?
Give it some time. Does anyone seriously think President Trump wants to hurt any part of the U. S. economy that is now finally cranking after decades of crap?
The Classic Car part is very minor compared to the massive disruption which will happen as the ‘former’ U.S. Allies install all the countervailing tariffs on a huge variety of products. I hope you are not looking at purchasing an aluminum boat, wherever it is manufactured. Hopefully you don’t work for one of those companies manufacturing them.
I think that it makes sense to point out to Washington what I believe was an oversight by the bureaucrats in not excluding used/vintage cars when these tariffs are intended for new imports. That said, this is a negotiating tactic and I don’t really believe that our government is going to put a 25% tariff on foreign new vehicle imports.
Somebody has to pay for all of his Mar-a-Lago golf trips.
Those US government officials you’re referring to are Trump’s appointees. Thier only agenda is to stir the pot, make a mess, and then point fingers.
Haters will hate!
A vintage car (say over 15 years old) is an innocent victim of this proposal because it was designed, engineered and built before any of the current or recent administrations, and doesn’t represent any taking away of the US market for US cars. The buyers in the US importing these cars should not be punished for their good taste. They are often helping foreign sellers because the local economy in such-and-such a country is in free fall (think Venezuela…14,000% inflation) so American dollars represent a life ring thrown to the seller. Someone who buys say an E-type Jag from a foreign country is not hurting the sale of any car here. I am surprised Trump, who has owned RR Silver Cloud and Ferraris doesn’t acknowledge the concerns of car collectors.
Read the public comments on this subject here –
https://www.regulations.gov/docketBrowser?rpp=50&po=0&dct=PS&D=DOC-2018-0002&refD=DOC-2018-0002-0001
Bruce Caron is right – those suffering from TDS will never look at anything Trump does objectively. This morning, Germany’s largest automakers announced that they support removing EU/US tariffs. The haters response – doh!
Decades of bad deals made by sleazy politicians for self gain at our loss.