Welcome to At the Wheel: An Automotive Roundup, where we showcase the latest insights and thought leadership from Dykema’s Automotive and Transportation Industry Group. Get a closer look at the issues and trends driving change across the automotive industry along with a preview of upcoming webinars and events you won’t want to miss.

• This Week in Tariffs, Ep. 1 (April 21, 2025)
  Introducing This Week in Tariffs—a weekly guide with Dykema’s Tina Toma highlighting the latest developments in tariff policy and how they could impact the automotive industry. In this week’s update, Tina outlines the key contract risks tied to the 90-day tariff pause and the importance of reassessment and mitigation. #Automotive #SupplyChain #Tariffs #TradePolicy #ContractLaw #OEM
• Crain’s Detroit Business, “Michigan’s auto industry again begins scramble to mitigate tariff disruptions” (March 27, 2025)
  Experts warn that the U.S. 25% import duty on foreign vehicles, combined with existing tariffs, could disrupt manufacturing supply chains, raise vehicle prices, and lead to job cuts, while potentially encouraging some manufacturers to move production to the U.S. over time. Dykema’s Laura Baucus was quoted in the article, emphasizing the high potential for a serious disruption to the supply chain.
• Dykema Drives Auto Webinars: Our attorneys take the wheel and share their insights about the pressing legal challenges and trends facing the automotive industry this year and potentially for years to come. Recent sessions include:
  • Session #2 Advance Mobility: ADAS, AV, and EV Litigation and Regulation Issues (March 27, 2025)
    Speakers Clay Cossé, Mickey Stevens, Jay Logel, and Tim McCarthy addressed emerging litigation, shifting regulatory dynamics, and strategies for managing risks through safety case development.
  • Session #1 Do the Charges Fit the Crime? Criminal Liability Risks for NHTSA Reporting (February 27, 2025)
    Speakers Jennifer Beidel and Jay Logel discussed the DOJ’s use of 18 U.S.C. §1519 in NHTSA reporting cases, focusing on the Cruise Deferred Prosecution Agreement, implications of the Supreme Court’s Fischer decision, and the importance of assessing organizational reporting processes for potential criminal liability.
• Automotive News, “Automakers face tough choice: Absorb Tariffs or pass them on?” (March 7, 2025)
  Car buyers will have to absorb more of the tariff impacts than consumers purchasing other goods because of several auto industry idiosyncrasies, including the uniqueness of automotive parts, suppliers’ financial pictures, and customer brand loyalty.
  
  Laura Baucus was quoted in the article, focusing on whether long-term contracts can mitigate the impact of tariffs.

Upcoming

• Dykema’s Sheryl Toby is a featured panelist for “Automotive Industry: Driving Through Uncertainty,” a discussion sponsored by Capstone Partners and Huntington Bank, taking place on April 30 in Detroit. Join her and other panelists as they discuss how China, tariffs, and EV market dynamics are impacting the global auto supply chain.
• Dykema Drives Auto Webinar, Session #3 – The Third Quake: Tariffs and International Trade Regulation in 2025 on May 15. Register here.
  Join Tim McCarthy and others from our international trade regulatory practice for an overview of the measures that have been imposed, thoughts about their context and the prospects for easing of these measures, and with the benefit of experience from the last Trump administration’s previous tariff impositions, compliance and risk management measures that can be deployed to help navigate these new waters.
• Save-the-Date: Dykema’s Automotive Legal Summit 2025 returns to M1 Concourse in Pontiac, Mich., on July 23! Stay tuned for details.