The White House said Trump will immediately sign an executive order on tariffs in the automotive industry.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a press conference that U.S. President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on automatic tariffs on Tuesday.
Finance Minister Scott Bessent refuses to provide any further details
Officials said ahead of the press conference, officials told Reuters that the Trump administration plans to reduce the impact of its auto tariffs by reducing some of the responsibilities imposed on foreign countries in domestically manufactured cars and keeping tariffs on foreign cars free of tariffs from others.
“President Trump is building important partnerships with domestic automakers and our great American workers,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a statement provided by the White House.
“The deal is a major victory for the president’s trade policy, which is by rewarding companies that manufacture domestically, while providing a runway to manufacturers that have already expressed their investment in U.S. investment and expansion of their domestic manufacturing sector.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on the development on Monday, saying the move means that auto companies that pay the tariffs will not be charged with other taxes, such as steel and aluminum, and will provide reimbursement for such tariffs that have been paid.
Trump traveled to Michigan on Tuesday to commemorate the first 100 days of his tenure, a period when the Republican president used to subvert the global economic order.
The move to mitigate the impact of automatic taxation is the latest in his administration to show flexibility in sowing turbulent tariffs in financial markets, which has brought uncertainty to businesses and raised concerns about a sharp economic slowdown.
Automakers said earlier Monday that they expected Trump to issue relief to auto tariffs before a trip to Michigan, home to three Detroit automakers and more than 1,000 major auto suppliers.
U.S. President Donald Trump plans to impose a new 25% tariff on vehicles imported into the U.S. Andrew Chang explains why this latest threat is different and why it is related to trade and industry experts.
General Motors CEO Mary Barra and Ford CEO Jim Farley praised the changes in the report.
“We believe that the president's leadership is helping the competitive environment for companies like General Motors and allowing us to invest more in the U.S. economy,” Barra said.
Farley said the changes “will help mitigate the impact of tariffs on automakers, suppliers and consumers.”
Last week, a coalition of auto industry groups urged Trump not to impose a 25% tariff on imported auto parts, warning them that they would cut vehicle sales and raise prices.
Trump had earlier said he planned to impose a 25% tariff on auto parts by May 3.
“Tariffs for auto parts will compete for global automotive supply chains and trigger a domino effect, which will result in higher prices for consumers, lower sales at dealers and make repairs and repair vehicles both expensive and easy to predict,” the industry groups said in the letter.
A letter from groups representing GM, Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai and other groups was sent to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Lutnick.
“Most auto suppliers are not capitalized because of sudden tariff damage. Many cars are already in a difficult situation and will face production shutdowns, layoffs and bankruptcy,” the letter added.
