Shift: A podcast about mobility · Automotive News

Abhijit Boora on how automakers are delaying tariff impacts using customs tools

November 2, 2025·31 min·1 clip

Nexperia supplies 40% of critical semiconductor chips to auto industry—and China just blocked exports.

The show opens with a short headlines segment before handing off to Molly Boygon's interview. John Irwin joins first to discuss a semiconductor shortage story centered on a standoff between the Chinese and Dutch governments over control of Nexperia. The main conversation then turns to Abhijit Bora, who brings supply-chain and operations experience to the automotive discussion. Molly asks what trade data can reveal about U.S. content in vehicles imported from Canada and Mexico. Bora describes the North American auto supply chain as tightly integrated. He traces that integration back to the NAFTA era and notes that USMCA preserved much of the structure already in place. Tiered suppliers, OEMs, labor specialization, and cross-border production all operate within the same system. The result, he says, is a highly optimized just-in-time manufacturing network across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The conversation then shifts to bonded warehouses and foreign trade zones. Those customs tools can delay tariff payments or apply them to only part of stored goods. They are especially useful when the host country is not the final destination for a product. Bora explains that governments understand how often goods cross borders multiple times before they are consumed. Without that flexibility, repeated tariff hits would turn into an undue financial burden. He also notes that automakers have used these tools for years because the supply chain is so complex. What is changing is how the tools are being used and how much pressure now surrounds them. The interview narrows again to USMCA compliance. That issue became especially important for light trucks after January 20, 2025. The timeline matters because some firms can adapt in about six months while others need two to three years. The gap between those timelines becomes the real differentiator. The show ends with a practical reminder that policy, logistics, and manufacturing capacity all move on different clocks.

As heard by us

Tariffs become concrete through customs tools, supply-chain math, and the timing of North American auto production.

The episode treats tariff pressure as a systems problem rather than a slogan. Molly Boygon and Abhijit Bora walk through trade data, USMCA rules, and the North American auto supply chain with enough detail to make the policy mechanics feel concrete.

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Why you'd press play

Customs rules, tariff timing, and North American auto supply chains, explained without hand-waving.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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