Trump Roasted For Immediately Backtracking On Tariffs For U.S. Automakers After Backlash

The backlash against President Donald Trump is coming hard and fast after he quickly announced a one-month exemption for the auto industry following criticisms of his decision to earlier announce tariffs for imports from Canada and Mexico.

Trump is now offering a one-month exemption on the steep new tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports for U.S. automakers, easing concerns that the freshly launched trade war could severely impact domestic manufacturing.

The temporary reprieve follows conversations Trump had with executives from the “big three” automakers—Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis—on Wednesday, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

When asked whether 30 days would be enough time for the auto industry to adjust to the new tariffs, Leavitt said Trump was clear "that they should get on it, start investing, start moving, shift production here to the United States of America where they will pay no tariff.” Following the White House’s announcement, shares of major U.S., Asian, and European automakers climbed as much as 6%.

However, the 25% tariff pause on autos and auto parts traded through the USMCA only postpones a larger showdown set for April 2, when Trump plans to introduce sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs designed to mirror the taxes and subsidies other nations apply to imports.

Trump was swiftly criticized for the weak incoherence of his trade war strategy.

Driving home how much these tariffs are hurting the nation's auto industry, David Kelleher, the owner of a Pennsylvania car dealership, stressed in an interview with Fox News that "it’s not just the trucks and vehicles that are made in Mexico, but all of the parts from Mexico and Canada, and go back and forth across the border.”

Noting that a truck on his lot is there indefinitely after soaring in price from $80,000 to $100,000, Keller noted that automakers have built their businesses around free trade agreements and that "when that changes on a dime, we can't build a $4 million plant overnight in the United States."

Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo was angered by Kelleher's remarks ranting in a furious defense of Trump that he is "trying to change" the game for American automakers so enough Dodge Rams, to name just one vehicle, can be sold.