President Donald Trump has signaled he may offer temporary relief to automakers struggling to come to grips with new tariffs on imported vehicle parts.
Per a report from Automotive News, Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday that he would consider granting tariff exemptions, particularly for components sourced from key trade partners like Canada and Mexico, as manufacturers transition production to U.S. facilities. Trump did not provide further information or specifics on the possible exemptions.
The remarks come amid growing concern within the automotive industry over rising costs. Automakers and analysts have warned that broad tariffs could drastically increase production expenses, pushing prices higher for consumers and potentially leading to job cuts in the U.S., undermining the White House’s stated goal of bolstering domestic jobs and manufacturing.
Shares for GM, Ford, and Stellantis rose immediately following the President’s comments.
Currently, fully assembled imported vehicles are subject to a new 25-percent tariff, with plans to expand the tax to include auto parts by May 3rd. Under the existing U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), vehicles with sufficient North American content are exempt, but manufacturers are pressing for more exclusions, especially for low-cost parts. The uncertainty has already rattled supply chains and created a variety of logistics challenges for automakers and trade partners.
“Look, I’m a very flexible person,” Trump told reporters on Monday. “I don’t change my mind, but I’m flexible.”
The President also said that he “helped [Apple CEO] Tim Cook recently and that whole business,” referring to a possible tariff exception made last week on the tech giant’s popular smartphone.
“I don’t want to hurt anybody,” Trump said. “But the end result is we’re going to get to the position of greatness for our country.”
As GM Authority reported last week, the new tariffs are already resulting in new vehicle imports to pile up at ports across the country. Meanwhile, the extent to which automakers plan to shift their manufacturing base to the U.S. remains uncertain.
Comments
Tax those 2.7s
It’s his mind waver of the hour!
The previous administration didn’t have one to wave.
This fkg more on hasn’t got a clue; he operates on ego-maniacal hate, retribution, and utter ignorance. Pathetic state of affairs.
TDS, TDS, TDS
Runs deep here on GM Authority
Sally…… only Republicans have TDS………. Tiny D-ck Syndrome
@ David
You are “sick” pedo-liberal, and the ones always talking d!cks! Disgusting. Seek help
David is the poster-girl for TDS
The last time Trump helped GM the Lordstown Plant closed up! lol
The Lordstown plant closure was strictly Barra’s doing.
Lordstown closed because of greed and poor workmanship from the UAW rank and file.
Lordstown closed because of inept upper management as the rest of the 25 or so assembly plants GM closed in this country since the 1980s.
He’ll really help his buddy, Elon for sure!
Stupid is as stupid does. TrumpTariffs drive up prices; higher costs drive down sales; drops in sales increase layoffs. The promise of big increases in employment in manufacturing are a joke. It will take years to build new factories and it won’t be millions of new jobs, but thousands at best. Automation is where manufacturing is heading.
Trump is using 20th century strategies that won’t work in the 21st century. His reversal on the auto industry tariffs are clear evidence of his ignorance of the complexities that exist today.
Thousands of jobs are better than the millions that have been sent to low wage countries. People still have not answered the questions of how to stop the bleeding of jobs to low wage nations without tariffs?
Manufacturing jobs as a percentage of all jobs has been declining steadily since the 1950s to where it’s less than 10% of all jobs in the USA. Our economy is driven by service oriented jobs which account for our economic leadership in the world today.
Trump’s tariffs are not going to raise the standard of living here in America, rather they are leading us into a loss of our world economic power on the world stage. And China is gearing up to jump into the openings Trump’s tariffs are creating.
How many readers here are in, or looking for a manufacturing job? It’s a small number. So don’t exaggerate the importance of manufacturing jobs to our economy. If anything is bleeding, it’s all of us who are right now facing a looming recession in our economy which will result in a decline in our way of life and standing in the world.
You cannot have record trade deficits and be a wealthy Nation. The only reason why our standard of living is high is because we carry more debt per capita than any other nation in the world. Real wages have been falling since the 1970s just as when our manufacturing base started eroding. We cannot expect to be an economic powerhouse if the only economy we have is a village economy where we’re breaking bread for each other and cutting each other’s grass.
his eyes are so brown because he is full of something. hint . Is it brown matter ???
Who has he ever helped but himself.
Trump fold like a cheap aluminum lawn chair. No one takes that fool seriously.
@ David
TDS..TDS…
Seek help
TNT what state do you live in? Do you even have medical insurance or a portfolio? You talk like you have skin in the game plus your always giving medical advice. Seems like there would be an awful after taste from constantly licking the orange fat ass shoe heels.
@Don
Man you libs sure talk disgusting! That’s what you uneducated people do when you support the “pedos” from the left. Your party is diminishing in numbers and all you have are senseless/weak words from weak little men who can’t tell us what a woman is, and think a girl can be a boy and a boy can be a girl!! Go seek medical help immediately!!!
Stew.. All I can say is “HORSEHOCKEY”
We as a nation cannot sustain ourselves by importing everything!
Why do you think the Asian country’s have circled the wagons here in the US as we allow them to use us like rented mules and take the money back to their homeland while they run American companies out of business.
all the while, not allowing us to import into their countries by attaching tariffs!
TNT you fell for the bait hook line and sinker you have just been played imagine saying that we talk disgusting and the guy that you worship talks like a insolent child the way he tags people with condescending and derogatory nicknames the way he attacks people’s cultures and religions. Don’t you see how stupid you sound right now. Gauging us measuring us by what we say characterizing us as sounding disgusting. Trump The Chump is the real disgusting one imagine cheating on his pregnant wife explain your way out of that one or 34 felonies, six bankruptcies and multiple business failures and lawsuits for rape. Stop trying to hang that non-binary gender, neutral, crap around our necks. There are very few of us that subscribe to that nonsense!
@Don
Again, Instead of ranting on here and justifying your “sick” behavior and nasty dialogue. Go seek medical help. It’s that simple! Yet, you won’t. You’re blind to your own sickness and weakness. What a shame