The Latest: Tariffs would add $4,400 to car prices

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Latest on a U.S. Commerce Department hearing Thursday into whether imports of cars, trucks and auto parts pose a threat to American national security that would justify hitting them with tariffs (all times local):

___

10:45 a.m.

Imposing a 25 percent tariff on auto imports would raise the price of the typical new car sold in the United States (now about $35,000) by $4,400 — $2,270 for U.S.-built cars and $6,875 for imported cars and trucks, according to a study released Thursday by the Center for Automotive Research.

"New tariffs or quotas would also reduce competition and consumer choice; increase the cost of used vehicles; and raise the cost of getting vehicles serviced and repaired," says Peter Welch, president of the National Automobile Dealers Association, which commissioned the study.

Welch says the tariffs would push the average new-car payment to $611 a month from $533 a month (over 69 months on average).

___

10:20 a.m.

Automakers, dealers and suppliers are united in opposition to President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on imported cars, trucks and auto parts.

"The opposition is widespread and deep because the consequences are alarming," Jennifer Thomas of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers tells a Commerce Department hearing on the tariffs Thursday.

Trump has ordered the department to investigate whether auto imports pose a threat to U.S. national security that would justify tariffs.

Automakers say the tariffs would drive up the cost of imported components and would invite retaliation by US. trading partners.

In a study out Thursday, the Center for Automotive Research found that a 25 percent tariff on autos and parts would cut U.S. auto sales by 2 million and wipe out 714,700 jobs.