ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The days of the pandemic brought uncertainty, and a shortage of inventory, to Maryland's auto industry.
Peter Kitzmiller said things were getting back to pre-pandemic conditions, but between the talk in Washington and in Annapolis, uncertainty could be a problem again.
"The estimates you see, they're kind of all over the board," Kitzmiller told WMAR. "But I think it's a pretty safe assumption that we're looking at a three to six thousand dollar increase on the price of vehicles, if these tariffs remain in effect for any length of time."
Kitzmiller has been president of the Maryland Automobile Dealers Association for 26 years. He represents about 300 dealerships.
When it comes to new tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, he worries for both car prices and car parts.
"A significant number of parts cross back and forth the border two or three times. And so the parts impact is almost as important as the actual vehicle itself," he explained.
READ MORE: Trudeau: US launched a trade war against Canada after Trump imposed tariffs
This week, the White House said the tariffs on America's bordering nations would go in place "to combat the extraordinary threat to U.S. national security, including our public health posed by unchecked drug trafficking."
Dr. Daraius Irani, an economist at Towson University, told WMAR about a quarter of imports to the Port of Baltimore come from Mexico, Canada and China.
"The port relies on stuff going in and going out, but if there's a reduction in that that's going to also impact the port's operations as well," he said.
Irani said impacts could be felt not just with cars, but with lumber for the construction sector, nickel, and energy.
“We have spent a great deal of resources in building up the manufacturing infrastructure that crosses the border. So when that is disrupted that’s going to cause pain to many of the businesses that rely on those goods that flow freely between the countries," Irani added.
Kitzmiller, meantime, said vehicle affordability is already the biggest issue facing their industry.
"My concern is we're going to price people out of the market," he said, "and we're also going to have people that are in the market for a new car are going to end up having to say, 'well I need to spend less money, I need to buy a used car,' which is going to then raise the price of used cars."
