The Tank Is Empty: Drivers Shoulder Auto Tariff Tax Hikes as Biggs and Schweikert Refuse To Give Arizonans a Brake

Automakers are warning that tariff costs are finally catching up with them, meaning higher sticker prices, lower quality parts, and fewer features for Arizona drivers. Despite the Supreme Court ruled federal tariff taxes unconstitutional, Andy Biggs and David Schweikert voted twice last month to keep the cost-hiking tariff agenda in place. Tariffs affect “nearly 80 percent of vehicles priced under $30,000,” including common sedans like the Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic. Even American-made vehicles aren’t exempt: tariffs on steel, aluminum, and foreign-made specialty parts drive up costs across the industry. Arizona families already paid an additional $1.6 billion in 2025 because of tariffs, through price increases across various everyday products. That cost burden is predicted to rise even further in 2026, with more than two out of three Americans blaming tariffs for driving up prices. After Trump imposed a universal 15 percent tariff tax, Biggs remained silent, and Schweikert went a step further to propose a new “universal tariff,” stating that he was “not going to let this whole thing fall apart” after the Supreme Court ruling.

Copper State Victory spokesperson Nicholas Simões Machado said: “Arizonans would sooner trust a used car salesman than the political lemon Andy Biggs and David Schweikert are trying to sell. Neither Biggs nor Schweikert can ever claim to be in the driver’s seat on affordability when they’ve been co-signing tariff tax hikes that have left working families’ budgets running on empty, all while stripping Arizonans for parts at the checkout line every day.”

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