President Donald Trump granted U.S. automakers who comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement a one-month tariff exemption, the White House said Wednesday.
Big Three automaker Stellantis is thanking the Trump administration for giving it a one-month exemption from the 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico that went into effect this week, saying that “We share the President’s objective to build more American cars.”
“We thank President Trump for the decision,” Stellantis said in a statement Thursday, according to Reuters.
“We share the President’s objective to build more American cars and create lasting American jobs,” it added. “We look forward to working with him and his team.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Wednesday that U.S. automakers who comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) are getting a one-month exemption from the Trump administration’s tariffs.
AUTOMAKERS GET 1-MONTH TARIFF EXEMPTION: WHITE HOUSE
Workers transport Chrysler minivans at the Stellantis Windsor Assembly Plant in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, on Jan. 31. (Geoff Robins/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“We spoke with the Big Three automakers,” Leavitt confirmed. “We are going to give a one-month exemption on any autos coming through USMCA.”
“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,” Leavitt said.
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She told reporters that Stellantis, Ford and General Motors were the companies Trump spoke with.
“They requested the call. They made the ask and the president is happy to do it,” Leavitt added. “It’s a one-month exemption.”
ONE OF THE COUNTRY’S LARGEST LABOR UNIONS THAT ENDORSED KAMALA HARRIS PRAISES TRUMP TARIFFS
A drone view of Stellantis’s Chrysler Windsor Assembly facility in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, on Feb. 4. (Reuters/Carlos Osorio / Reuters)
Stellantis operates facilities in Mexico and Canada and imports around 40% of the vehicles it sells in the U.S. from those countries, Reuters reported, citing analyst estimates.
It added that Stellantis announced investments in its U.S. operations at the start of Trump’s second term and quoted the company as saying that it strongly supports the president’s “determination to enable the American automotive sector to thrive”.
Workers assemble Jeep Patriot and Compass SUVs at Chrysler’s Belvidere Assembly Plant in February 2012. The plant is set to reopen in the next few years. (Michael Tercha/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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“Stellantis has committed to build the next generation Dodge Durango at the Detroit Assembly Complex,” the United Auto Workers union said in late January, adding that the company also plans to reopen its Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois in 2027 and build a new midsize truck there.
