On Wednesday, President Trump said he would pause Tariffs on cars coming to the United States from Canada and Mexico for a month, after a 25 -half -time tariff, which he had put on the nearest trade partners the day before and encouraged solid resistance from the industry.
Karoline Leavitt, a white house secretary, read Mr. Trump’s statement on Wednesday, saying that the White House spoke with the three largest car manufacturers and that one-month exemption would be given by cars coming by the United States-Mexico-Kanada agreement.
“At the request of the companies associated with USMac, the president gives them an exemption for a month, so they are not in an economic disadvantage,” the statement said. The three car manufacturers whom Mr Trump spoke to were General Motor, Ford Motor and Stellantis.
Asked why Mr. Trump approved only one -month return, Mrs. Leavitt said the president expects car manufacturers to move production back to the United States. The message, she said, was to “indulge in, start investing, start moving, moving production here to United States, where she won’t pay tariffs.”
The refund was a demonstration of an unhappy approach Mr Trump took into trade policy, and the president announced, paused and then continued with a policy that was deeply influential in the economy of North America within a few weeks. The decision followed after Mr Trump hosted a conference call with Mary T. Barra, executive director General Motors; John Elkann, President of Stellantis; William C. Ford, President Ford Motor; And Jim Farley, the Ford Executive Director, states a person familiar with the invitation.
The executives told the president that putting tariffs on cars and parts from Canada and Mexico will effectively erase the profit of all of their companies, imposing billions of dollars of new costs to them, said that person. They found that cars built in these countries support jobs in the United States in the parts of parts, merchants and other related companies.
They said they had invested in the factory across North America because they were provided by oil and USMac, a trade agreement that Mr Trump negotiated with Canada and Mexico in his first term that the continent would be a free trade zone, said the person. Changing the rules of that zone would suddenly have devastating consequences.
Three companies executives said they would not oppose tariffs imposed by cars imported outside North America, said that person. In addition to Canada and Mexico, the United States imports a large number of cars from Japan, South Korea and Germany.
It was unclear what a teacher refund, such as BMW, produces cars in Mexico, but are not fully in accordance with the terms of the trade contract. Currently, the BMW pays 2.5 percent of the vehicle importing tariff from the factory to San Luis Potosí, Mexico. BMW also makes cars in Spartanburg, SC, which is one of the largest German company factories.
Mr. Trump said the levy were intended to cite Canada and Mexico to stop drug and migrant flow across the US border. But after months of threats, he decided to put tariffs this week, even after Canada and Mexico have committed to dedicate more resources to police border and drug trafficking.
Mexico and Canada leaders called on Mr. Trump to give up the tariff, saying that they were dishonest and unjustified.
But Mr. Trump refused to offer a wider return to Canada, despite the fresh overtures of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Mr. Trump wrote on social networks that he had talked to Mr. Trudeau and was still not convinced that Canada had done enough to stop the flow of the fantanila across the border.
On the truth of Social, Mr. Trump wrote that he had told Mr. Trudeauu that “many people died of the fantanil who passed through the borders of Canada and Mexico, and nothing convinced me that it stopped.”
The president added: “He said it became better, but I said,” It’s not good enough. “
Data show that only a small amount of fentali enters the United States through Canada, and the Canadians claimed the claim that they are a significant source of drugs for the United States.
Canada on Tuesday requested counseling with the United States in the World Trade Organization via tariff, saying that they had violated the promises that the United States had given to WTO
Vice -President JD Vance and Howard Lutnick, a trade secretary, were in a call with Mr. Trump and Mr. Trudeau. The debate lasted 50 minutes, a senior Canadian official said, adding that the president had joined the Canadian dairy market for US manufacturers.
Mr. Lutnick and Canadian Finance Minister, Dominic Leblanc, will continue the conversation during the day to find a deescalatory compromise. Mr. Trudeau is not ready to raise Canadian retaliation on US goods, the clerk said, but is open to consider the selective reduction or removal of the tariff if the United States decide to remove or lower the tariffs to a particular Canadian goods. The clerk spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to submit a press about current negotiations.
At a press conference on Wednesday, President Claudia Sheinbaum from Mexico defined several times, “We won’t stand.”
Mrs. Sheinbaum said she had a call with Mr. Trump scheduled for Thursday, but did not have updates or information about Mr. Lutnick’s claims about changing the tariff. She said that if the tariffs remain in force, the Mexican government will announce retaliation on Sunday, when she also called a demonstration in Mexico City.
“We have to defend our sovereignty between all of us,” she said.
Mrs. Sheinbaum also said that, in response to Tariff, her government had already contributed to new trade partnerships, including Canada and Chile.
“We will look for more agreements and partnerships with other countries,” she said.
Mr. Trump’s move to impose a 25 -pointed tariff to most of the products from Canada and all products from Mexico, as well as an additional 10 percent of tariffs to all imports from China, caused the stock markets on Tuesday to fall globally, before the shares for some industries were somewhat recovered.
The shares of some car manufacturers bounced on Wednesday in the hope that Mr. Trump would reduce his tariffs to Canada and Mexico. General Motors, Ford Motor and Stellantis all rose. Most car manufacturers rely on factories and suppliers in these countries for cars and parts and cannot easily or quickly transfer production to the United States.
A one -month return will make a little resolve the long -term exposure to the industry procession of Tariff Mr. Trump. They include steel and aluminum tariffs that come into force on March 12 and the “reciprocal” levy that Mr. Trump plans to impose on April 2.
However, car manufacturers can give the opportunity to store car storage and parts made in Mexico and Canada and push the influence if the tariffs take effect later.
Kevin Roberts, director of economic and market intelligence in Cargurus, an online vehicle shopping place, said it was unrealistic to expect that car companies could move their factories to the United States for a month.
“Auto -industry is so global and so interconnected, you will not be able to transfer a large amount of production in a month,” said Mr. Roberts.
A 25 percent tariff would add nearly $ 12,000 to the average price of a car coming from Canada, said Mr. Roberts, and $ 10,000 with an average car imported from Mexico.
Annie Correal,, Matina Stevis-gidner,, Vikas Bajaj and Neal E. Boudette contribute to reporting.
