The Big Three automakers requested Trump reconsider 25% tariffs on vehicles coming from Mexico or Canada in a Tuesday call.
24 hours after 25% tariffs went into effect on goods crossing into the United States from Canada and Mexico, the White House announced Wednesday that automakers will get see a one-month exemption.
Per White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt: “Reciprocal tariffs will still go into effect on April 2, but at the request of companies associated with the USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which Trump signed into law in January 2020), the president is giving them an exemption for one month so they are not at an economic disadvantage.”
Automakers, including Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, urged the Trump administration to waive vehicles that complied with the USMCA’s origin requirement — stronger stipulations that vehicles and their component parts be sourced and built within North America — from the new tariffs against Canada and Mexico. This decision allows some time for automakers to make plans to shift their manufacturing plans to avoid the import levies if and when they go into effect next month, though it’s unclear immediately whether the exception applies to completed vehicles, their component parts, or both.
As with the news of new tariffs going into force Tuesday, it’s another “wait and see” moment for what the auto industry can and will do with a 30-day reprieve. GM CEO Mary Barra, Ford CEO Jim Farley and executive chairman Bill Ford and Stellantis chair John Elkann took part in the Tuesday call asking President Trump for some time to bolster their investment U.S. manufacturing operations beyond their current capacities.
According to a Reuters report, Stellantis made no official comment, but said in an earlier email: “We are prepared to work with the Trump administration to support further investment in our U.S. and manufacturing footprint but we need time to make these changes without negatively impacting the business and our customers.” Whether automakers will be able to make headway in bargaining for that extra time in the next month remains to be seen.
