Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick speaks with reporters after President Donald Trump addressed a joint session of Congress on the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. —AP Picture/Ben Curtis
WASHINGTON, DC — President Donald Trump is granting a one-month exemption on his stiff new tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada for US automakers, as worries persist that the newly launched commerce battle may crush home manufacturing.
The pause comes after Trump spoke with leaders of the “massive 3” automakers, Ford, Common Motors and Stellantis, on Wednesday, in response to White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Requested if 30 days was sufficient for the auto sector to organize for the brand new taxes, Leavitt mentioned Trump was blunt with the automakers looking for an exemption: “He advised them that they need to get on it, begin investing, begin transferring, shift manufacturing right here to the US of America the place they are going to pay no tariff.”
READ: Trump tariff uncertainty overshadows development guarantees — analysts
Trump had lengthy promised to impose tariffs, however his opening weeks within the White Home concerned aggressive threats and shock suspensions, leaving allies unclear at what the US president is definitely making an attempt to attain.
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Based mostly off varied Trump administration statements, the tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China imposed on Tuesday are about stopping unlawful immigration, blocking fentanyl smuggling, closing the commerce hole, balancing the federal funds and different nations exhibiting extra respect for Trump.
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All of that has left Canada, a long-standing ally, decided to face up in opposition to Trump with their very own retaliatory tariffs, rejecting a White Home overture to probably cut back a few of tariffs imposed on Tuesday.
“We aren’t going to again down,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford mentioned after talking with the Canadian prime minister. “We is not going to budge. Zero tariffs and that’s it”
Ford advised The Related Press that the auto sector in the US and Canada would final roughly 10 days earlier than they begin shutting down the meeting traces due to the tariffs.
“Individuals are going to lose their jobs,” he mentioned.
After the White Home introduced the one month reprieve, shares of huge US, Asian and European automakers jumped as a lot as 6 %.
However pausing the 25 % taxes on autos traded via the North American commerce pact USMCA would solely delay a broader reckoning to happen on April 2, when Trump is about to impose broad “reciprocal” tariffs to match the taxes and subsidies that different nations cost on imports.
Leavitt mentioned the president is “open” to listening to requests from different industries looking for exemptions as effectively.
The White Home repeatedly insisted that it could not grant exemptions and the sudden turnaround displays the financial and political issues being created by Trump’s day-old tariffs. Whereas the Republican president sees them as enriching the US, his plans to tax imports have alienated allies and prompted anxiousness about slower financial development and accelerating inflation.
The US president engaged in a telephone name on Wednesday with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had steered that the administration was seeking to meet Canada and Mexico “within the center.”
However Trudeau refused to carry Canada’s retaliatory tariffs as long as Trump continues along with his new taxes on imports from Canada, a senior authorities official advised The Related Press. The official confirmed the stance on situation of anonymity as they weren’t approved to talk publicly on the matter.
“Each nations will proceed to keep up a correspondence as we speak,” Trudeau’s workplace mentioned.
The prospect of a commerce battle seems to be an ongoing characteristic of the Trump administration. Along with his upcoming reciprocal tariffs that might strike the European Union, India, Brazil, South Korea, Canada and Mexico, Trump desires to tax imports of pc chips, pharmaceutical medication and autos. He additionally closed exemptions on his 2018 metal and aluminum tariffs and is investigating tariffs on copper as effectively.
Tariffs are taxes paid by importers within the nations receiving the products, so the associated fee may largely be handed alongside to US shoppers and companies within the type of greater costs. In his Tuesday night time speech to a joint session of Congress, Trump tried to attenuate the monetary ache as a “ little disturbance.”
“It might be a bit little bit of an adjustment interval,” he mentioned after claiming that farmers would profit from reciprocal tariffs on nations which have tariffs on US exports. “It’s a must to bear with me once more and this shall be even higher.”
Trump has predicted that tariffs will result in larger funding contained in the US, creating manufacturing facility jobs and boosting development in the long run.
On Tuesday, Trump put 25 % taxes on imports from Mexico and Canada, taxing Canadian vitality merchandise corresponding to oil and electrical energy at a decrease 10 % price. The president additionally doubled the ten % tariff he positioned on China to twenty %.
The administration has claimed that the tariffs are about stopping the smuggling of medication corresponding to fentanyl, with aides asserting that that is a few “drug battle” slightly than a “commerce battle.” US customs brokers seized simply 43 kilos (19.5 kilograms) of fentanyl on the northern border the final fiscal 12 months.
Trudeau mentioned on Tuesday that his nation would plaster tariffs on over $100 billion (US {dollars}) of American items over the course of 21 days, stressing that the US had deserted a long-standing friendship.
“Right this moment, the US launched a commerce battle in opposition to Canada, their closest accomplice and ally, their closest good friend. On the identical time, they’re speaking about working positively with Russia, appeasing Vladimir Putin, a mendacity, murderous dictator. Make that make sense,” Trudeau mentioned on Tuesday.
Mexico indicated it could announce its personal countermeasures on Sunday.
Beijing responded with tariffs of as much as 15 % on a big selection of US farm exports. It additionally expanded the variety of US firms topic to export controls and different restrictions by about two dozen.
“If battle is what the US desires, be it a tariff battle, a commerce battle or every other sort of battle, we’re able to struggle until the top,” China’s embassy to the US posted on X on Tuesday night time.
In response to China, US Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth advised Fox Information Channel’s “Fox & Mates” that the US is “ready” for battle in opposition to the world’s second largest economic system.
“Those that lengthy for peace should put together for battle,” Hegseth mentioned Wednesday morning. “If we wish to deter battle with the Chinese language or others, we’ve to be robust.”
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Leavitt is one in every of three administration officers who face a lawsuit from The Related Press on First- and Fifth-amendment grounds. The AP says the three are punishing the information company for editorial choices they oppose. The White Home says the AP isn’t following an govt order to confer with the Gulf of Mexico because the Gulf of America. —AP
