President Donald Trump will ease some levies imposed on foreign auto parts intended for use in U.S.-made vehicles, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Monday.
Lutnick stated that Trump was “building an important partnership” with U.S. automakers through a deal intended to help lessen the impact of his tariffs on the domestic auto industry.
“This deal is a major victory for the President’s trade policy by rewarding companies who manufacture domestically, while providing runway to manufacturers who have expressed their commitment to invest in America and expand their domestic manufacturing,” Lutnick said in a statement.
This arrangement, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, means U.S. automakers paying tariffs would not be charged other levies, such as those on steel and aluminum, and that reimbursements would be given for such tariffs that were already paid.
“Tariffs on auto parts will scramble the global automotive supply chain and set off a domino effect that will lead to higher auto prices for consumers, lower sales at dealerships and will make servicing and repairing vehicles both more expensive and less predictable,” they stated.
“Many are already in distress and will face production stoppages, layoffs and bankruptcy,” they added, warning that “it only takes the failure of one supplier to lead to a shutdown of an automaker’s production line.”
The coalition comprises several auto industry groups—including the Alliance for Automotive Innovation—representing General Motors, Toyota Motor, Volkswagen, Hyundai, and other major automakers.
“They’re switching to parts that were made in Canada, Mexico, and other places,” he told reporters. “They need a little bit of time because they’re going to make them here.”
The Epoch Times reached out to the White House and the Department of Commerce for comment on the tariff arrangement but did not receive a response by publication time.
