Many automakers will not have to pay 25% tariffs on goods shipped between the United States, Canada, and Mexico, for a single month, according to the White House, which had slapped the tariffs onto the nation’s largest trading partners on March 1. The exemption covers Stellantis, GM, Ford, Honda, Toyota, Hyundai, and Tesla, along with some other automakers who have sufficient U.S. content.
Technically, the United States is bound by the free trade agreement with Mexico and Canada signed by Donald Trump in his first term; however, Trump claimed emergency powers because, he said, Canada unfairly sells more lumber to the United States than it buys from the United States, and is resisting annexation.
Other industries and companies are likely to negotiate for exemptions to the tariffs, after Trump made it clear that he was inviting requests.
GM, Ford, Stellantis, Toyota, and Hyundai all donated at least $1 million to Trump’s inauguration event. The inauguration fund cleared $170 million, the excess of which can be used in any way. Hyundai and Toyota have not contributed to any inauguration before; Ford and GM have never contributed more than $500,000. Stellantis’ contribution is unknown at this time. (Reference) Of note, Apple did not make any donations but its CEO, Tim Cook, personally gave $1 million; and Apple reportedly was not included in the tariffs on China.
Elon Musk, who contributed $290 million to the campaign, has been appointed as a general executive officer of all government agencies with nearly unlimited powers to fire people and terminate contracts.
David Zatz started what was to become the world’s biggest, most comprehensive Mopar site in 1994 as he pursued a career in organizational research and change. After a chemo-induced break, during which he wrote car books covering Vipers, minivans, and Jeeps, he returned with Patrick Rall to create StellPower.com for daily news, and to set up MoTales for mo’ tales.
David Zatz has around 30 years of experience in covering Chrysler/Mopar news and history, and most recently wrote Century of Chrysler, a 100-year retrospective on the Chrysler marque.
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