Ford and two more auto companies get one month free tariff exemption from Trump

President Trump is giving a one-month exemption to U.S. automakers from the round of tariffs that took effect on March 4, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday.

The announcement comes after Mr. Trump spoke with leaders of the so-called Big Three automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, the parent company of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram — on Wednesday, Leavitt said.

Mr. Trump’s imposition of 25% tariffs on all goods imported from Canada and Mexico, as well as an additional tariff of 10% on Chinese imports, were expected to hit the auto industry hard because many vehicle parts and components are imported from those countries to manufacture cars in the U.S.

We spoke with the Big Three auto dealers,” Trump said in a statement read by his spokesperson. “We are going to give a one-month exemption on any autos coming through USMCA,” referencing the North American free trade agreement he renegotiated in his first term.

Since President Trump‘s successful USMCA was signed, Ford has invested billions in the United States and committed to billions more in the future to both invest in American workers and ensure all of our vehicles comply with USMCA,” Ford said in a statement. “We will continue to have a healthy and candid dialogue with the administration to help achieve a bright future for our industry and U.S. manufacturing.”

In its own statement on the tariff delay, GM said the automaker “has more vehicle assembly plants in the U.S. than any other automaker,” adding that “we continue to invest billions of dollars every year in our manufacturing base, supply chain and U.S. jobs.”

The goal of the tariff pause is to give U.S. automakers time to shift their supply chains to within the U.S., Leavitt said. Mr. Trump “told them they should get on it, start investing, start moving, shift production here to the U.S. of America, where they will pay no tariffs. That’s the ultimate goal,” she said.