25% Tariffs on Imported Medium- and Heavy-Duty Trucks and Key Parts Take Effect

A 25% tariff on imported medium- and heavy-duty trucks and key truck parts took effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on November 1, 2025. President Donald Trump set the duties in Proclamation 10984, signed October 17 under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and published in the Federal Register on October 22.

The proclamation also imposed a 10% tariff on buses, including school buses, transit buses and motor coaches.

What is covered

According to a White House fact sheet, medium- and heavy-duty trucks include Class 3 through Class 8 vehicles, from large pickups and moving trucks to dump trucks and tractors for 18-wheelers. The parts tariff applies to key components, including engines, transmissions, tires and chassis.

For trucks that qualify for preferential treatment under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, importers may document the U.S. content of each model, and the 25% duty then applies only to the non-U.S. content. Trucks that do not qualify pay on the full value. USMCA-compliant parts are not subject to the new tariff until Commerce and U.S. Customs and Border Protection set up a process to tax only their non-U.S. content.

Truck makers that assemble in the United States can apply for an offset equal to 3.75% of the value of the trucks they build here, from November 1, 2025, through October 31, 2030. That figure reflects a 25% tariff on parts making up 15% of a truck's value. Products covered by the proclamation are not also subject to the steel, aluminum, auto and other sectoral tariffs or to the tariffs on Canada and Mexico, the fact sheet said.

The proclamation followed a Commerce Department investigation that found the imports threaten national security. The White House said imports account for about 43% of trucks sold in the United States.

Truck makers react

Paccar, parent of Kenworth and Peterbilt, expected to gain. "I think it helps Paccar significantly, and that should be good for our customers and Paccar. I think it gives us a competitive leg up from where we've been," CEO Preston Feight told analysts on October 21. Kenworth and Peterbilt build trucks in Renton, Wash., Chillicothe, Ohio, and Sainte-Thérèse, Quebec, Transport Topics reported.

A Volvo Group spokeswoman told TT that the company appreciated "the relief the administration is providing on imported parts for U.S. producers like us, who can't presently source certain parts in this country." TT reported that Daimler Truck North America and International Motors were more circumspect.

What it means for drivers and fleets

Fleets buying new trucks faced the prospect of higher prices on models built outside the United States, especially those that do not meet USMCA content rules, and on imported engines, transmissions and tires. For USMCA-qualifying trucks, the actual cost would depend on each model's U.S. content. TT reported that industry leaders warned the policy could raise prices and slow purchases at a time of weak freight demand, so carriers had reason to ask dealers for tariff-inclusive quotes.