New tariffs in place on cars imported to US, expert weighs in on how it could affect Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — President Donald Trump has placed a new 25% tariff on cars imported to the United States, and Utah car dealers are now bracing for any potential effects.

While there is some worry and uncertainty in the community, a local expert said Utah does have an advantage.

Craig Bickmore, the executive director of New Car Dealers of Utah, said local dealerships have a lot of cars already sitting on their lots. That supply could buy customers and dealerships some time to figure things out.

“I’m hopeful that the tariffs will then moderate, or they’ll get that worked out before there is that inventory concern. So for Utah, I think we’re going to weather this pretty well,” Bickmore said.

Bickmore also noted that some car suppliers could try to pay at least some of the cost of the tariff without passing the cost on to the consumer.

But because it’s hard to know exactly when, if and how much car prices could rise, Bickmore said some local dealerships are already seeing an increase in people coming in to buy a new car in hopes of beating any potential price hikes.

Many are expected to hold on to their used cars for longer, and because of that, Bickmore said he thinks service and repair centers could get a little busier.

He also said he thinks more people in the short term could opt to lease their next car, rather than buy it.

“Those leases are two and generally three years. Gives people an opportunity to weather the storm if there is one. And so leasing, I think, will take an uptick.”

Regardless of what happens, Bickmore said he thinks Utah will be able to navigate the tariffs well.

“We’ll get through it because we’re resilient.”

Related: Utah’s gas prices are rising. Could tariffs have an impact?

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