American cars (and more) might be getting zero import taxes soon

In case you have forgotten, the United States is currently imposing reciprocal tariffs against countries under President Donald Trump’s second term. Of course, this is leading other world leaders to engage in talks with the US government, which, in turn, leads to some deals being sealed.

As of July 23, 2025, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met with Trump in the White House to further discuss the tariffs that could potentially be imposed on the country. As a result, the new tariff rate has decreased by 1%, lowering the US-imposed tariffs on the Philippines to 19%.

Another interesting result of this visit, according to both ABS-CBN and Reuters, is that the Philippines is going to open market with the US, meaning certain products will be charged zero tariffs. And one of these, according to Marcos Jr., is automobiles, specifically, fully built automobiles and motorcycles.

Currently, a 30% tariff applies to vehicles that can seat up to 10 people, while a 20% tariff is applied to buses and trucks. This is where laws and trade agreements, such as Executive Order No.12, completely remove any import taxes on EVs and reduce hybrids to around 1 to 5%, and others, such as free-trade agreements with countries like South Korea and Japan (the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement or JPEPA).

While not final, it should benefit the few US automakers in our country, such as Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge, Jeep, RAM, Tesla, and Harley-Davidson. Aside from expected price reductions, we could potentially see way more new models being introduced, especially those sourced from the United States.

Perhaps, we could even see some Japanese brands introduce US-built models and reintroduce models such as the Honda Pilot, or even price reductions for the few cars sourced from the US, like the BMW X7 and XM, which are built in the BMW Spartanburg plant in South Carolina.

Regardless, this should shake up the current market, especially if talks further bring down or raise the imposed tariffs.

^{Photos from The White House and Ford}