The US will impose a 25% tariff on imports of all medium and heavy-duty trucks, President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social on Monday.
“Beginning November 1st, 2025, all medium and heavy duty trucks coming in the United States from other countries will be tariffed at the rate of 25%,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
The US president had last month aid heavy truck imports would face new duties as soon as 1 October 2025.
In 2024, the US imported 2,45,764 medium and heavy-duty trucks, primarily from Canada ($4.5 billion) and Mexico ($15.6 billion), valued at roughly $20.1 billion, according to data from the US Department of Commerce.
To be sure, medium- and heavy-duty trucks account for 5% of the US's overall automotive market but the country accounts for 80% demand for such vehicles in North America, according to S&P Global.
In the US, “a medium duty” truck typically has a gross vehicle weight of 14,000-33,000 pounds while “heavy duty” trucks are heavier than 33,000 pounds. These are largely commercial vehicles used for logistcis to construction and waste management.
The US-Mexico-Canada Agreement assumes importance here — importers want to ensure that trucks and components qualify under the trade deal to benefit from a preferential treatment.
US Tariff Impact On Trucks
According to Automotive Manufacturing Solutions, the 25% tariff on Class 8 trucks can push up their prices to $212,500 from $170,000 earlier, before other federal taxes.
The move immediately impacts original equipment manufacturers who have operations in Canada and Mexico, including Navistar, Volvo and Daimler.
Additionally, a related fallout can be higher imports of components. OEMs will likely try to localise final assembly to sidestep the tariffs. Moreover, this can give a fillip to electric trucks manufactured by the likes of Tesla Inc.
US Truck Tariff Impact On India
While Indian OEMs have negligible presence in the US medium- and heavy-duty truck market, they have significant exposure to the geography by way of auto components.
In Fiscal 2023-24, India's auto component exports to the US stood at $6.79 billion, according to data from the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association, or ACMA. A fraction of those parts are related to commercial vehicles.
According to ETAuto, 15-20% of India's auto-component exports to the US can be affected by Trump's various tariffs on the automotive sector. Indian OEMs with operations in Canada and Mexico are less impacted.
