Automakers frustrated, relieved with month-long tariff reprieve

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There’s a mix of relief and continued frustration within the auto sector as U.S. President Donald Trump granted a one-month tariff exemption for vehicles traded under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement.

The Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association, which represents Stellantis, Ford and GM, said it “welcomes” the exemption.

“We look forward to working on a permanent solution that recognizes the integration of the North American market and reinforces the strong standards established in the USMCA/CUSMA,” the association’s president and CEO Brian Kingston said in a statement.

However, Global Automakers of Canada president David Adams said the one-month reprieve “is better than no reprieve” but it still leaves the industry to deal with significant uncertainty moving forward.

“A month reprieve — will that change tomorrow? This whole exercise is a little bit like trying to nail Jell-O to the wall because we’re dealing with something that is shape-shifting all the time,” said Adams, whose association represents Honda, Toyota, Volkswagen and others.

“It’s extremely frustrating for anybody just to try to figure out which end is up, and how do we make plans moving forward.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Wednesday the Big Three automakers — Stellantis, Ford and General Motors — had asked for an exemption to Trump’s 25 per cent tariffs when they spoke to the president.

Leavitt said reciprocal tariffs will still go into effect April 2 but the president is granting a month-long exemption so automakers are not placed “at an economic disadvantage.”

Adams, though, said his members lack any reassurance from the temporary break due to the “myriad” of other tariffs Trump has announced, such as those on steel and aluminum imports to his country beginning March 12.

“We’re being asked to jump, but nobody is telling us how high,” he said.

Other industry representatives also expressed a sense of exasperation from the back-and-forth announcements on tariffs.

When asked for comment on Wednesday’s development, Flavio Volpe, head of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, pointed to a post he made on social media.

“Round and round we go, where we stop, nobody knows,” he wrote.