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The White House said Donald Trump has imposed a one-month fee on tariffs imported from Mexico and Canada in the latest policy shift to Roil Corporate America.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the U.S. president spoke with Stelantis, Ford and General Motors on Wednesday.
Leavitt added that the exemption will apply to cars that meet the terms of the 2020 trade agreement in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
“The president is giving them a month’s exemption, so they are not at a financial disadvantage,” Levitt said.
The truck appeared after the market responded to the 25% levy on the Trump administration after the market imposed a 25% tariff on 25% imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% levy on Tuesday.
At one point, all post-election earnings for the S&P 500 were wiped out from the ground where the index recovered.
Tariffs in Mexico and Canada are considered to be particularly penalized for the automotive industry, as North America is spread across North America’s complex supply chains.
Trump’s tariffs sparked an escalating North American trade war, with Canada’s huge imposition to all U.S. imports. Mexico said it plans to announce its response on Sunday.
Leavitt suggested that more industries could propose carvings from tariffs, saying Trump was “willing to hear additional exemptions.”
“He always has open conversations and he will always do that. . . . Yes, he thinks it’s right for the American people,” she added.
But Levitt said Trump’s “reciprocity” tariffs will still take effect on April 2, according to the plan.
“He had a strong sense of it anyway,” she said. “That’s where a month comes from.”
Levitt said Trump told the company to “keep going” and began to transfer its production to the United States. “This is the ultimate goal.”
Earlier Wednesday, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Trump would “consider” relief from certain departments.
But he reiterated complaints from the Trump administration that Mexico and Canada failed to cut trafficking in the deadly opioid fentanyl and suggested that any probation could last for a month.
U.S. automaker stocks rose on Wednesday, Ford rose 5.1%, General Motors rose 6%, and Stralantis’ U.S. listed deposit revenue soared nearly 9%. Other groups also gained benefits, with Japan’s Toyota’s Wall Street listed deposit receipts rising 6%.
