Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross dismisses paying more for cars due to Trump's tariffs as 'no big deal'

Wilbur Ross.
(Image credit: DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images)

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross dismissed concerns about Americans paying higher prices for cars as a result of President Trump's steel tariff as "no big deal" in comments that are widely being slammed as "tone deaf" and "out of touch."

Ross argued that one ton of steel costs about $700, and there is about one ton of steel in a car, "so 25 percent on that would be one half of 1 percent price increase on the typical $35,000 car. So it's no big deal."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.