By Canadian Press

Trump set to give automobile industry some tariff relief: White House

Apr 29, 2025 | 7:53 AM

WASHINGTON — White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said U.S. President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order on automobile tariffs later Tuesday which is intended to provide some relief to the industry besieged by multiple duties.

Leavitt did not provide details about the action but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Trump is committed to bringing automobile manufacturing back to the United States.

“We want to give the automakers a path to that quickly, efficiently and create as many jobs as possible,” Bessent said during a White House briefing.

Trump earlier this month slapped a 25 per cent tariff on vehicle imports to the United States. Automakers are also being hit with 25 per cent duties on aluminum and steel, as well as the president’s 10 per cent universal tariffs and 145 per cent levies on Chinese imports.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the change Monday and said companies paying the automobile tariffs won’t have other levies, including on steel and aluminum, stack on top of each other.

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The Wall Street Journal also reported Trump will ease some levies on foreign parts used to manufacture cars in the U.S, as well as modify duties on auto parts which were expected to go in place May 3.

“I’m not going to go into the details of the auto tariff relief but I can tell you that it will go substantially toward reshoring American auto manufacturing,” Bessent said.

It was not immediately clear the full impact of the move on Canada’s auto industry, which received a partial carveout from Trump’s tariffs for vehicles compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, called CUSMA. The current duties only hit the value of the non-American parts of vehicles finished in Canada.

Bessent said Trump had meetings with domestic and foreign auto producers.

Six of the auto industry’s largest lobbying groups sent a letter to the Trump administration last week urging tariff relief and warning of supply chain disruption and higher prices. The letter said “most auto suppliers are not capitalized for an abrupt tariff induced disruption.”

“Many are already in distress and will face production stoppages, layoffs and bankruptcy,” said the letter, which included signatories like the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents every major automaker in the United States except Tesla Inc.

The announcement comes as Trump is set to travel to the heart of America’s automobile industry for a rally in Michigan later Tuesday to celebrate his administration’s first 100 days.

The state is home to the Big Three — Ford, General Motors and Chrysler, now part of Stellantis — all of which have been pushing the president against duties that will upend the deeply integrated North American automobile industry.

Anderson Economic Group, a Michigan consulting firm, estimated earlier this month, an extra US$5,000 could be added to the lowest-tariffed American cars and up to US$12,000 for full-sized SUVs. Trump’s tariffs have since rapidly changed.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 29, 2025.

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press