U.S. President Donald Trump’s 25% tariff bomb on imported vehicles, dropped Wednesday, has Canada’s auto sector reeling—but Honda’s not sweating it yet. With consumer prices set to climb and North American supply chains in the crosshairs, the Japanese automaker is plotting a nimble dodge around the April 3 deadline.
Honda Canada’s Ken Chiu didn’t flinch in a statement Thursday: “We’re sizing up these tariffs’ hit on our business, but our 4,000-plus manufacturing crew and decades-deep roots here aren’t going anywhere. With our North American production muscle, we’ll pivot like champs.”
From its Alliston, Ontario plant, Honda churns out vehicles and leans hard on cross-border parts flow. Trump’s latest salvo—piled atop steel, aluminum, and other duties on Canada, Mexico, and China—threatens to jack up costs and snarl operations. Still, Chiu’s betting on flexibility, hinting at a playbook to shield jobs without tipping his hand on specifics.
Simcoe County’s auto heartbeat is thumping with uncertainty, but Honda’s doubling down: this isn’t a retreat—it’s a reroute.