This one auto part crosses the border four times on its way to your car

Reshoring more of the U.S. auto industry would require untangling supply chains that leave many parts vulnerable to a slate of tariffs Trump has repeatedly revised.

The Trump administration wants to bring more auto manufacturing back to the United States with stiff tariffs. That could mean untangling supply chains that crisscross the border repeatedly, leaving some industry players unsure how their bottom lines will be affected.

Take Brendan Lane’s striker plates, which move between the United States and Canada four times before they’re installed. The common component — one of the roughly 30,000 individual parts that go into a single vehicle — is a small metal loop attached to a slab of steel allowing car doors to latch securely in place.

“The system is set up where we’re across the border all the time,” said Lane, the general manager of Lanex Manufacturing in Windsor, Ontario, across the river from Detroit. His parts are sold to suppliers of major American automakers, including Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, and Lane said he has been making cross-border trips for his family-run company since he was 16.

Striker plates made by Lanex Manufacturing in Windsor, Ontario, cross the U.S.-Canada border several times during production.Jing Feng / NBC NewsRecent months have been a roller coaster ride for Lanex as President Donald Trump introduced tariffs on auto parts, steel and aluminum and Canadian imports.On Tuesday, Trump adjusted his vehicle tariffs to offer some relief from import taxes that in many cases had threatened to stack up on top of one another. Under the revised policy, automakers paying tariffs on imported cars can get reimbursed for some other levies, including on foreign-made metals, though country-specific tariffs could still apply.

The system is set up where we’re across the border all the time.