Automakers brace for impact as Trump imposes car import tax [Video]

Whatever the U.S. gains from President Donald Trump’s 25% tax on imported cars – and experts are skeptical – automakers around the world are bracing for a lot of pain.In Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Canada and across Europe, automakers employ millions of people whose livelihoods depend on buyers in the U.S. that currently spend more than $240 billion annually on imported cars and light trucks.The Trump tariffs — aimed at boosting U.S. jobs and tax revenues — will also affect imported auto parts, which were valued last year at $197 billion.“The impact will be really huge and very disruptive,” said Sigrid de Vries, director general of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association. Vries and others critics say American car shoppers will also be worse off, as tariffs push prices higher.Policymakers around the world said Thursday they were weighing their next moves — namely, whether to retaliate or not, and if so, …