DETROIT, MI— President Donald Trump granted U.S. automakers a short reprieve from stiff new tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada this week.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president told companies to “start investing, start moving, shift production here.” But a month doesn’t allow time for auto companies to make the changes necessary to minimize the damage from Trump’s trade war.
Even with this pause, steel and aluminum tariffs are still expected to go into effect on March 12. Trump is then expected on April 2 to set broad “reciprocal” tariffs to match the taxes and subsidies charged by other countries on imports.
