Trump kicks can, exempts USMCA automakers from tariffs for one month

Automakers who are associated with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) have been given a one-month exemption from the White House on the 25% tariffs that went into effect yesterday. “Reciprocal tariffs will still go into effect on April 2, but at the request of the companies associated with USMCA, the president is giving them an exemption for one month so they are not at an economic disadvantage,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on behalf of Trump. Automakers who receive the exemption are the ones who comply with USMCA, which was an agreement that Trump negotiated the last time he was in office that replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). So far, all of the messaging around this exemption appears to apply to just automakers. As many of you know, parts that are used to build these vehicles flow across the border several times before they’re sent to the plant that puts them in the final product. We would like to assume that they are also covered, otherwise, the reprieve isn’t much of a reprieve, but we’re also not sure exactly what the White House is thinking. It appears though that the can has been, yet again, kicked down the road.