Josh Boak and Michael Liedtke, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday suggested that the auto industry might be temporarily exempt from the tariffs he previously imposed on the sector to give automakers time to coordinate their supply chains.
“I’m looking at something to use it to help some car companies,” Trump told reporters that he gathered in an oval office. The Republican president said it would take time for carmakers to move production from Canada, Mexico and elsewhere.
Matt Blunt, chairman of the American Automotive Policy Council, an association representing Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, said the group shared its goal of increasing domestic production for Trump.
“A wide range of tariffs on parts can undermine our common goal of building a prosperous and growing American automotive industry, and there is a growing awareness that many of these supply chain transitions take time,” Brandt said.
Trump’s statement suggested yet another round of tariffs as the onslaught of Trump’s import taxes paniced financial markets and raised deep concerns from Wall Street economists about the possibility of a recession.
When Trump announced 25% car rates on March 27, he described them as “permanent.” His hardlines regarding his trade are becoming increasingly blurred as he has been trying to limit the possibility of economic and political blows from his policies.
Last week, after the bond market sale pushed interest rates on U.S. debt, Trump announced that broader tariffs on dozens of countries will be set at 10% baseline to spend 90 days negotiating.
At the same time, Trump raised China’s import tax to 145%, but temporarily exempt electronics from some of these tariffs by charging those items at a 20% tax rate.
“I won’t change my mind, but I’m flexible,” Trump said Monday.
Trump’s flexibility promoted a sense of uncertainty and confusion about his intentions and goals. The S&P 500 Stock Index rose 0.8% on Monday, but still falls nearly 8% this year. The US Treasury’s 10-year interest rate rose to around 4.4%.
Karltannenbaum, chief economist at Northern Trust Global Financial Farm, said that whiplash was so large that it might need to be “fitted with neck braces.”
Tannenbaum warned in his analysis that “damages to consumer, business and market trust can already be irreversible.”
European Trade and Economic Security Commissioner Malosh Schiffchovich was featured on X on behalf of the European Union and worked in trade negotiations with Secretary of Commerce Howard Rutnik and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
“The EU is constructive and remains ready for fair transactions, including interrelationships through 0-0 tariff offers on industrial goods and non-tariff barriers,” Sifchovich said.
The US president also spoke with Apple CEO Tim Cook and said he recently “helped” him. Many Apple products, including the popular iPhone, are assembled in China.
Apple did not respond to Monday’s request for comment on the latest swing of the Trump administration’s tariff pendulum.
Even if the exemption granted last week in electronics turns out to be short-lived, the temporary reprieve gives room to breathe to figure out how to minimize the impact of the trade war on iPhone sales in the US
The prospect helped raise Apple’s shares by 2% on Monday. Still, the stock has abandoned its previous 7% increase as investors handled the possibility that the iPhone could still be shaken by more tariffs on Chinese-made products in the coming weeks.
Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities Analyst said Apple is in a much better position than it was a week ago, but he warned that there is still “large uncertainty, confusion and confusion about the next step.”
One workaround you may be looking into during the current tariff grace period is how to shift production of even more iPhones from China’s longtime hubs from India’s longtime hubs while Trump is fighting a trade war during his first term as president.
The Trump administration suggests that tariffs have segregated China as the US is engaged in talks with other countries.
But China is also trying to build tougher ties in Asia with countries stabbed by Trump’s tariffs. Chinese leader Xi Jinping met Vietnam’s Communist Party general secretary in Hanoi on Monday with a message that no one could win the trade war.
When asked about the meeting, Trump said, “By trying to understand how it would ruin the United States, it suggested that the two countries were conspired to cause economic harm to the United States.
Liedtke reported from San Francisco.
Original issue: April 14th, 2025, 2:03pm EDT
