Trump might pump the brakes on auto tariffs — ‘I don’t change my mind but I’m flexible,’ president says

On Monday, president Donald Trump suggested that he might temporarily exempt the auto industry from the customs tariff he previously imposed on this sector, to give car makers time to control their supply chains.

“I look at something to help some car companies with them,” Trump told reporters who gathered in the oval office. The Republican President said that car manufacturers need time to transfer production from Canada, Mexico and other places, “They need a little time because they will make them here, but they need a little time. So I am talking about things like this.”

Matt Blant, head of the US Automobile policy Council, a association representing Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, said the group shares Trump’s goals in increasing local production.

“There is increasing awareness that the wide customs tariffs on the parts can undermine our common goal of building the prosperous and growing American auto industry, and that many of the transfers of this supply chain will take time,” said Blanc.

Trump’s statement has alluded to another round of repercussions on the customs tariff, as Trump’s offering of import taxes led to the panic of financial markets and sparked deep concerns from Wall Street economists about a possible stagnation.

When Trump announced 25 % automatic definitions on March 27, he described them as “permanent”. His solid lines in trade have become increasingly unclear as he sought to reduce the potential economic and political trembling of his policies.

Last week, after the sale of the bond market on interest rates on US debt, Trump announced that over 90 days, a wider tariff will be set against dozens of countries in the main line by 10 % to give time for negotiations.

Meanwhile, Trump increased import taxes on China to 145 %, only to temporarily exempt electronics from some of these customs tariffs by charging these goods at a rate of 20 %.

“I don’t change my opinion, but I am flexible,” Trump said on Monday.

Trump’s flexibility has also fueled a feeling of certainty and confusion about his final intentions and goals. The S&P 500 stock index increased by 0.8 % on Monday, but it still decreased by almost 8 % this year. The interest rates on US Treasury notes for 10 years were approximately 4.4 %.

“Whiplash was so great that he might have to” obtain a stent of a neck. “

Tannenbau warned in an analysis: “The damage to the consumer, business and confidence in the market may actually be irreversible.”

MAROš šefčovič, European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, published on Monday that on Monday, on behalf of the European Union, he participated in commercial negotiations with Trade Minister Howard Lootnick and American Trade Representative JAMISON Greer.

“The European Union is still based and ready for a fair deal-including the reciprocity of our exhibition 0 against 0 on industrial goods and working in unacceptable barriers,” said šefčovič.

The US President also said that he spoke with the CEO of Apple Tim Cook and “Help” recently. Several Apple products, including the famous iPhone, are assembled in China.

Apple did not respond to the Monday’s request to comment on the latest fluctuations in the Trump management pendulum.

Even if the exemptions granted on electronics last week turned to short -term, the temporary exemption gives Apple to breathe space to find out ways to reduce the impact of the trade war on iPhone sales in the United States

This possibility helped raise the Apple 2 % share price on Monday. However, the stock has abandoned an early 7 % increase, as investors tackled the possibility that the iPhone has been marginalized by more customs tariffs on Chinese Chinese products in the coming weeks.

Dan Evez, a playbush secretries analyst, said that Apple is much better than it was a week ago, but he warned that he was still not to have “collective uncertainty, chaos, and confusion about the following steps.”

Apple’s potential tool during the current tariff process can be how to convert more iPhone production from its long centers in China to India, where it began to expand its manufacture while Trump made a commercial war during his first term as president.

The Trump administration suggested that its definitions have beenolated China, as the United States has been involved in talks with other countries.

But China is also seeking to build more strict relations in Asia with the states of the Trump tariff. China’s leader, Xi Jinping, met on Monday in Hanoi with the Secretary -General of the Communist Party in Vietnam in favor of a message that no one wins commercial wars.

When asked about the meeting, Trump suggested that two countries are conspiring to economic harm in the United States by “trying to know how we can link the United States of America.”

This story was originally shown on Fortune.com

2025-04-15 01:30:00