Updated April 29, 2025 at 4:45 PM EDT
President Trump signed executive actions giving automakers a break on some of his tariffs, the latest retreat from a get-tough policy he has said is aimed at bringing manufacturing jobs to America and driving up government revenues.
The move comes as Trump traveled to Michigan for a rally marking his 100 days in office. Trump's on-again, off-again approach to tariffs have sparked whipsaw moves in financial markets, and most polls show Americans are concerned about Trump's handling of the economy.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters that Trump had made the decision after meeting with domestic and foreign automakers.
Trump's goal is to bring more auto manufacturing to the United States, Bessent said. "So we want to give the automakers a path to do that quickly, efficiently and create as many jobs as possible," he said.
The move will ensure that the different types of tariffs charged by the administration don't stack up on imports of foreign cars. The Wall Street Journal first reported the shift on Monday.
Importers of foreign auto parts will be able to get some reimbursement from the government for tariffs for the next two years.
The break will both reward domestic manufacturers while "providing runway" to those needing time to invest in domestic plants. "If they can't get parts, we didn't want to penalize them," Trump told reporters at the White House.
Trump's 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports kicked in last month, hurting the auto industry. That was followed by a 25% tariff on imported cars. Later this week, imported car parts will also be hit with a 25% tariff. (The tariff rules are different for cars imported from Mexico and Canada under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.)
Automakers have complained the tariffs are too high, though the United Auto Workers has praised the auto tariffs because they say they will bring more manufacturing jobs back to the United States.
The Trump administration is in talks with 17 trading partners, Bessent says
The administration has also slapped 10% across-the-board tariffs on imports, but abruptly paused higher country-by-country rates for 90 days — except for Chinese goods.
Bessent said that the administration had pinpointed "18 important trading relationships" for talks on tariffs, but did not elaborate on the list.
"We will be speaking to all of those partners, or at least 17 of them the over the next few weeks. Many of them have already come to Washington," Bessent said. He said talks with India, South Korea and Japan had been substantive.
Bessent declined to comment on whether the administration was talking to Beijing on tariffs, though he said the onus was on China to make a deal due to its reliance on the U.S. market.
He also suggested that serious talks had not yet begun with the European Union, mentioning a digital services tax that some members had imposed on U.S. internet providers.
"They have some internal matters to decide before they can engage in an external negotiation," Bessent said.
Copyright 2025 NPR
