Trump Tariffs to Add $1 Billion to Cost of New NYC Subways, Trains and Buses, MTA Says
Officials said the added costs could force the agency to buy fewer vehicles and affect up to 5,000 jobs.
- On Wednesday, MTA officials warned that President Donald Trump's tariffs on foreign imports will add $1 billion to the cost of modernizing the transit authority's bus and rail fleet by 2030.
- The agency is overseeing a $23 billion vehicle purchase plan, but tariffs on specialized foreign components like electronics and steel have inflated building costs since August 2025, according to Jesse Lazarus, head of the MTA's rolling stock program.
- Lazarus noted that "some of the components... are so specialized that we cannot avoid importing them," despite the MTA exceeding federal 'Buy American' standards with 75% domestic parts in new R211 subway cars.
- Governor Kathy Hochul wrote to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer requesting an exemption, calling the tariffs a "tax on transit" threatening the largest fleet upgrade in agency history.
- Beyond tariff impacts, MTA Chairman Janno Lieber warned that proposed cuts to federal transit funding could cost the authority an additional $250 million annually, jeopardizing accessibility projects and system improvements.
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20 Articles
It explains how tariffs on the MTA could add up to $1 billion and affect the purchase of trains, wagons and nearly 1,000 new buses.
NY governor: Tariffs expected to add $1 billion in costs to upgrade transit fleet
Trump administration tariffs will hike the cost of New York’s efforts to purchase new transit vehicles by $1 billion, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said this week, calling on the U.S. to exempt subway components from federal duties. In a Sept. 30 letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Hochul said the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority has warned of “significant harm” spurred by “higher and u…
Trump tariffs will add $1 billion to cost of new NYC subways, trains and buses, MTA says
NEW YORK — The Trump administration’s controversial tariffs on imported goods will add $1 billion to the cost of modernizing the MTA’s bus and rail fleet, according to an estimate by the transit agency shared Wednesday — and Gov. Kathy…
MTA: Tariffs Added $1B To Cost Of New NYC Rail Cars
Gothamist reports: The MTA on Wednesday said President Donald Trump’s tariffs on foreign imports are on track to add $1 billion to the price of New York’s new train cars and buses. The transit agency’s vehicles are all built in the United States but rely on components manufactured abroad. MTA officials said during a board … The post MTA: Tariffs Added $1B To Cost Of New NYC Rail Cars appeared first on Joe.My.God..
Trump tariffs will add $1 billion to cost of new NYC subways, trains and buses: MTA
Trump's "high and unpredictable tariff rates" on specialized components that have to be imported to the U.S. have driven up the cost of building a subway car by 27.9% since August 2025, according to Jesse Lazarus, head of the MTA's rolling stock program.
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