

They’d just wait for you to inevitably come back to the states to visit; Regardless of your personal feelings on nationality, everyone has parents who will get old and sick eventually, and chances are very good that you’ll come back to visit them or to settle their estate afterwards.
It also applies to parts, not just finished vehicles. That’s one of the most impactful parts of it. It’s specifically to stop the “car is 99% built when it is shipped in, and American workers just tighten a few bolts to call it finished” scenario that you described.
I think this may be a “broken clock is right twice a day” scenario, because it seems to actually be targeting the methods that auto manufacturers used to skirt taxes.