Honda Warns Doubling Canada Auto Tariffs to 50% Would Be 'Catastrophic'

Jennifer Thomas, senior vice-president of corporate affairs at American Honda Motor Co., issued a stark warning at a Reuters automotive industry conference in Detroit on October 29, 2026. She said that a planned doubling of US tariffs on Canadian-made vehicles and auto parts — from 25% to 50%, threatened by the Trump administration to take effect on January 1, 2027 if a new trade deal is not reached — would be 'catastrophic for the entire industry.' Honda operates major manufacturing plants in Canada that supply the US market, and Thomas said the tariff increase would severely disrupt integrated supply chains that cross the US-Canada border multiple times during the production of a single vehicle, dramatically raising costs for manufacturers and consumers. She said Honda's preference would be a trilateral arrangement also including Mexico, recreating a framework similar to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The warning came as US and Canadian trade negotiators were described as still far apart on a new bilateral deal. The auto sector is among the most exposed to tariff escalation between the US and its neighbours, as parts and components cross the border repeatedly during manufacturing. Honda's public intervention intensified pressure on both governments to reach an agreement before the year-end deadline, and echoed broader industry concern about the fragility of integrated North American production networks.