It's been quite the turbulent past few weeks for the markets. President Trump's tariff policies have sent the futures market into a frenzy and due to the nature of tariffs the global market has been volatile to say the least.

Stellantis, a multinational automotive company known for vehicles like Maserati, Jeep, Alfa Romeo, and Peugeot, announced temporarily pausing production at two of its major plants. The Windsor Assembly Plant in Canada and the Toluca Assembly Plant in Mexico are both major importers into the U.S. now laying off almost 5300 employees. 

Also in the crossfire is Audi. Reports citing in a memo sent to dealers, all Audis heading into the US are on hold. Cars that arrive at ports after the 2nd of April will be held. The vehicles that entered prior will be processed and sent to dealers indicating there was no tariff charge on the vehicle. There haven't been any new reports indicating when shipments could resume. One of the more popular models, the Audi Q5, faces even a heavier burden since its build in Mexico AND is not a part of the USMCA. 

The Volkswagen Group as whole has paused all shipments to the US as well. Despite having a plant in the United States, models like the Jetta and Tiguan SUV are built and imported from Mexico. Volkswagen just last year sold almost 400,000 new vehicles in the US, two-thirds of which were imported. 

When it comes to the after parts market aluminum and steel are major players. While the U.S. doesn’t depend highly on imported steel, roughly one-third of the steel is imported. Industries like aerospace, auto, construction, and energy rely on a specific type of steel that can withstand extreme temperatures and pressure. The U.S. produces domestically a little over half of its aluminum but many companies still depend on Canada imported aluminum to keep their costs down. Tariffs could potentially increase the cost of these goods.

Even recently, President Trump has rescinded and lifted most of the set tariffs for 90 days. This has caused even more confusion and global instability as companies and executives are constantly trying to figure out ways to navigate around these tariffs. Steel and aluminum however, were unaffected by the latest policy change and still face a 25% import tariff. 

Cars and auto parts still face a 25% tariff which went into effect April 2nd. Auto parts compliant with the USMCA trade deal will remain “tariff-free” until Customs and Border Protection establishes a process to apply tariffs to their non-US content.

The Tariffs are likely to boost steel prices, benefitting U.S. producers and potentially adding 140,000 jobs to the industry. While the imposed tariffs that were originally introduced in 2018  made steel rise by 2% imports actually fell almost 25%.

As US companies in the automotive performance parts aftermarket begin TO TRY AND SHIFT  to domestic producers; Fabspeed Motorsport, a global leader in exotic sportscar sound and performance will actually be minimally affected by the global tariffs and more likely to thrive moving forward.

Fabspeed has been in business for over 30 years, navigating this industry and these tariffs is nothing new for them. Since they’ve been designing, developing and dyno testing for over 30 years, they’ve gained a reputation for  ultimate quality, ultimate sportscar sound and maximum performance above all else. Their diversified inventory of intake and exhaust systems are built and manufactured in house making them part of the very few companies that can call their products American made. After all, the current administration's goals are to remove dependency on foreign products and Fabspeed’s competition typically source 95 - 100% of their systems from China, Taiwan, and Singapore. Countries that are expected to be hit the hardest from the administration's new policies.

We reached out to the CEO of Fabspeed Motorsport, Joe Fabiani, for a direct quote on the matter. 

“You had to be into the industry to understand that not all aftermarket products and parts are the same. Very often these parts are simply sourced from Alibaba and Temu-adjacent companies that don’t care much about the product as much as they care about making a quick buck. Because of this any US, Canada, or European based company can buy, rebrand, rebox, and dropship.”

Many people end up with defective products, welding, valves, and some even lose power and torque. The CEO directly attributes internet hype and misleading marketing to the low-quality material that has been flooded into the aftermarket parts industry.

Spotting a reputable company for aftermarket parts could be challenging but not impossible. Joe recommends researching the company seeing if they have the industry standard tools like 3D printing and Dyno test equipment.

"See if the company has REAL VIDEO FOOTAGE of how their product is made and when it’s shipped. At Fabspeed, we do our tube bends and welding in house so you know you’re not purchasing a drop shipped product. Ask for a tour of the company's design and manufacturing facility and check it out yourself. OFTEN they will NOT allow you to visit because their parts are being sourced from China or an Alibaba company for pennies on the Dollar and buyers can NOT be shown that or learned to absorb these terrible facts."

Joe also added,

“These types of companies will get HARD by tariffs. However despite a 145% tariff increase, and since they use super cheap chinese exhausts with pie-cut welds, mongrel low cost, and 100% guaranteed to fail exhaust valves, these companies will continue to mislead and cheat the USA sports car buyers from their hard earned money. Caveat Emptor.”

While economic turbulence is troublesome it seems many aftermarket parts companies that have been taking advantage of dropshipping using foreign product won’t be backing down from marketing inferior product. The industry is just too lucrative for them to stop.  

Quality is king. And after working the industry for over 30 years , it's no wonder Fabspeed is the leading manufacturer in the market.