British car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JRL) announced that it will suspend shipments of cars to the United States for the entire month of April due to new tariffs imposed on the automotive sector.

The company, now owned by the Indian conglomerate Tata Motors, stated in a special statement that it is working with its business partners to respond to all problems caused by the tariffs in transatlantic trade, which include the automotive industry.

„As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are taking some short-term actions, including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid- to longer-term plans,” the company wrote in its statement. 

JRL stressed that the US is a crucial market for luxury brands. Its market accounts for about 25 percent of sales of various car models produced by JRL. This amounts to 400,000 cars being shipped to the US every year, including the top models such as the Land Rover Sport and LR Defender. 

At the same time, stocks of cars already delivered to the US, which will not be subject to the new 25 percent tariffs, are estimated to last for several months, according to Reuters.

The automotive sector in the UK employs some 200,000 people. It is to be directly affected by the US sanctions as that market accounts for 20 percent of all UK car exports. 

The US is the second largest importer of cars from the UK, after the European Union.

The newly imposed US tariffs on the automotive industry took effect on 3 April. 

According to statements from the company, it secured the most urgent shippings for a couple of months ahead, so the decision will not affect the recent buyers of new cars produced by the JRL. 

Source: PAP, Reuters

Photo: @CNBCTV18Live

Tomasz Modrzejewski