Trump open to tariff exemptions, delays auto tariffs by 1 month: White House
Trucks queue near the Mexico-U.S. border before crossing the border at Otay Commercial crossing in Tijuana, Baja California state, Mexico, on Mar. 4, 2025. (AFP Photo)
U.S. President Donald Trump decided to postpone auto tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports by one month after talks with the “Big Three” U.S. automakers—Stellantis, Ford, and General Motors, and he is “open to hearing about additional exemptions,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
Trump decided to “give a one-month exemption on any autos coming through USMCA,” Leavitt said regarding the decision, referring to the North American free trade pact. “They made the ask, and the president is happy to do it.”
Leavitt defended Trump’s remarks Wednesday as “realistic,” saying that standing up to foreign nations “requires a little bit of disruption.” But she added of tariffs: “The president is open to hearing about additional exemptions.”
Wall Street stocks rallied after the announcement, with shares of the three automakers each surging about 6% or more.
The American Automotive Policy Council said it applauded Trump’s move, but prospects of wider relief were dampened after his call with Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The U.S. leader said he was unconvinced that Ottawa had done enough to address Washington’s concerns over smuggling of the dangerous drug fentanyl.
Later on Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with his Canadian counterpart Melanie Joly, according to a U.S. statement.
“Secretary Rubio reaffirmed the importance of U.S-Canadian relations and reiterated that the Trump Administration will continue to put Americans’ safety and national security first,” said U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce.
Trump tariffs to put pressure on consumer prices
Trump’s sharp 25% tariffs on U.S. imports from Canada and Mexico—with a lower rate for Canadian energy—kicked in Tuesday, sending global markets tumbling and straining ties between the neighbors.
Ottawa swiftly announced retaliatory levies, while Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum plans to unveil her response at a mass rally on Sunday.
Trump has cited illegal immigration and fentanyl trafficking in imposing tariffs, though he frequently lambasts alleged trade imbalances when discussing levies.
On the other hand, consumer items appear poised for U.S. price hikes after Trump’s tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China. These include products like avocados, strawberries, electronics, and gasoline.
Of the agricultural products imported from Mexico to the United States in 2023, more than 72% were fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as beer and other alcohol, government figures showed.
Trump said Tuesday that tariffs would bring “a little disturbance” to the world’s biggest economy.
Businesses across the United States expect Trump’s tariff plans will force them to raise prices, with some already preemptively doing so, according to the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book survey of economic conditions released on Wednesday.
Contacts in most Fed districts said they “expected potential tariffs on inputs would lead them to raise prices, with isolated reports of firms raising prices preemptively,” according to the survey, which was completed on Feb. 24.
