President Donald Trump and House Republicans brought smiles to faces of auto executives with the move to kill the proposed border tax.

It appears the Trump administration has tabled plans to impose a “border” tax on good manufactured outside the U.S.

The much-maligned border tax was left out of a blue-print for tax reform released by administration and key members of the leadership in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives that are preparing a tax reform bill.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas), Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and White House National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn jointly released a statement of principles reaffirming their commitment to passing substantive tax reform for all Americans.

However, they also all rejected the border adjustment tax or BAT proposal that would have added a 20% tax on all goods and services imported into the United States.

(Trump administration outlines priorities for NAFTA talks. For the story, Click Here.)

Right up until last week, carmakers and their dealers feared the BAT issue was still alive. Ryan had first advanced the border tax as way to increase revenue if Congress succeeds in cutting the corporate income tax rate.

Auto dealers had carried on an extensive campaign against the border adjustment tax right from the time it first surface in the very early days of the Trump administration.

(Click Here for the details about the opening of NAFTA renegotiations.)

America’s 9,600 international nameplate automobile dealers hailed the news from lawmakers and administration officials working together to establish a road map for tax reform – who have officially abandoned a potential border adjustment tax (BAT).

“The framework released today by Congress and the Trump administration places the tax reform train squarely back on its tracks,” said AIADA President Cody Lusk.

(No change to NAFTA rule of origin Mexico officials say. Click Here for the story.)

“The border adjustment tax would have driven up costs on everyday goods and put Americans out of work. Now that it’s off the table, and the business community is no longer divided by this issue, we can now get back to work on supporting this important legislation.”