In a letter sent to the White House, Elon Musk's company acknowledges that, while it supports Trump's measures to defend "fair trade," these measures increase its costs.
US electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla has warned that reciprocal tariffs on products from the United States and exported to other countries could affect its sales.
In a letter to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Ambassador Jamieson Greer, and released by the White House, Tesla commented on the tariff measures President Donald Trump has imposed on other countries and markets, such as the European Union, which have received a similar response.
Thus, the company led by South African tycoon and Trump ally Elon Musk "recognizes and supports the importance of fair trade," however, it points out that "US exporters are inherently exposed to disproportionate impacts when other countries respond to US trade measures."
Last Wednesday, the European Commission announced that it will impose tariffs worth €26 billion on a wide range of products from the United States starting April 1st in response to the "unjustified" 25% tariffs that the new Donald Trump administration has imposed on European steel and aluminum imports since Wednesday.
For its part, the Canadian government announced that same day that it was imposing reciprocal tariffs on an additional 29.8 billion Canadian dollars (18.946 billion euros) of imports from the United States, starting Thursday, following a "dollar for dollar" approach.
Tesla says the "immediate reactions of affected countries" to the tariffs imposed by Donald Trump have impacted US exports, "including increased tariffs on electric vehicles imported into those countries."
"Therefore, the United States' prior special tariff measures have increased Tesla's costs for U.S.-made vehicles and the costs for those same vehicles when exported from the United States, resulting in a less competitive international market for U.S. manufacturers," Tesla warned.
It has also asked the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to investigate "ways to avoid these obstacles in future measures."
CONSIDER THE NATIONAL SUPPLY CHAIN
Tesla, on the other hand, noted in its letter that U.S. trade policy must "consider existing limitations in the domestic supply chain."
"While certain past initiatives have driven the growth of industries in the United States, some supply chains are still in their infancy," he explains.
Specifically, Tesla says that with respect to electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries, it has "consistently pursued a robust domestic supply chain, including the introduction of first-in-the-U.S. operations in battery manufacturing (Reno, Nevada) and lithium processing (Corpus Christi, Texas)."
However, he maintains that "even with aggressive supply chain localization, certain parts and components are difficult or impossible to obtain in the United States."
"Tesla supports a USTR process to further assess domestic supply chain constraints and ensure that U.S. manufacturers are not overburdened by trade measures that could result in prohibitive tariffs on necessary components or other import restrictions on items essential to sustaining U.S. manufacturing jobs," Musk's company said.
And he adds that the Trump administration's trade measures "should not (and should not) conflict with the goals of continuing to promote and support domestic manufacturing."
A STEP-BY-STEP APPROACH TO ADEQUATE PREPARATION
Finally, the manufacturer, which has seen its sales in the European Union drop significantly (-45% in January), notes that while the USTR "continues to evaluate potential trade measures to address unfair trade practices, the implementation schedule must also be considered."
Therefore, he argues that American companies will benefit "from a phased approach that allows them to adequately prepare and ensure the adoption of appropriate supply chain and regulatory compliance measures."
