US President Donald Trump's aggressive but fast-changing trade policy has foisted difficult questions on carmakers that they have not yet been forced to answer.

While Trump has retreated from some of his most onerous tariffs, carmakers are on the hook for 25 percent levies on auto imports that went into effect on April 3.

But so far, the effects of that levy have been muffled because carmakers are still selling vehicles from inventory. Auto companies and industry watchers expect this dynamic to persist for at least a few more weeks.

But if the tariffs stay in place -- a big if given Trump's tendency to reverse course -- automakers will need to decide how much of the hit to absorb and how much to pass on.

"No one in this entire value chain can just absorb it," Kjell Gruner, president of Volkswagen Group of America, said Tuesday.

"We can't say, 'Oh the customers need to swallow it.' That price increase would be too high," Gruner told an industry conference. "We can't also say the........

© International Business Times