United States president Donald Trump, on March 5, granted a one-month exemption on auto tariffs on Mexico and Canada. This comes shortly after a 25% tariff on goods imported from the US’ neighbouring countries took effect on March 4 this year.
According to a report by CNN, this decision comes after Trump spoke to Ford, General Motors (GM) and Stellantis. “At the request of the companies associated with USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement), the president is giving them an exemption for one month so they’re not at an economic disadvantage,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Leavitt added that automakers should use the temporary exemption to get in line with the president’s goal of bring America’s auto production back to the United States. “He told them they should get on it, start investing, start moving, shift production here to the United States of America, where they will pay no tariff. That’s the ultimate goal,” she said.
Ford, GM and Stellantis expressed their gratitude for the exemption and will continue to speak with the administration on issue facing the auto industry. However, Ontario premier Doug Ford said he and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau are unwilling to accept any tariffs on the country’s goods. “We’re on the same page, zero tariffs and we are not going to budge,” said Doug Ford.
The US imports plenty of models from Mexico and Canada, including those from brands like Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Ford, GMC, Kia, Nissan, Ram, Toyota, Volkswagen, Chrysler, Dodge, Honda and Lincoln. In addition to cars, Trump also signed executive actions yesterday (March 6) that exempted all products covered by the USMCA free trade treaty for a month.
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