President Trump Contemplating Tariff Relief For Automakers, Parts Companies

President Trump is still reportedly contemplating giving some tariff relief to automakers and car parts companies, something the industry has been pleading for. However, nothing has been solidified, even after the White House confirmed with CNBC such a measure is still on the table.

Lexus has gone in a weird direction with the 2026 ES sedan.

Exactly how and when that would be done isn’t clear, but automakers are feeling the heat as tariffs on steel, aluminum, components, and vehicles themselves to be levied on May 3 pose a serious threat.

A Financial Times report that ran earlier this week claimed President Trump is mulling over exempting car parts imported from China from the upcoming tariffs. Considering how many components do flow out of the Middle Kingdom to this market, both to consumers and to automakers, that would be a huge relief.

However, when it comes to relief from the 25 percent tariff on cars imported from Canada, it sounds like that isn’t happening. In fact, when President Trump was asked about that, he said the tariff could be increased to keep Canadian-assembled vehicles out of this market entirely.

Different automakers have been shuffling things to bring production back into the borders of the United States. For example, Hyundai announced a few weeks ago it’s doubling down on manufacturing in this country. Honda is scrapping plans to build the Civic in Mexico, bringing it stateside instead.

Toyota also said it’s increasing production of hybrid transaxles in West Virginia instead of importing them from Japan. Both GM and Volvo have increased production at factories in the US, avoiding bringing vehicles over the boarder.

But there’s plenty of tension while everyone waits to see how the tariff situation plays out for the auto industry. In fact, GM CEO Mary Barra said the car giant is going to wait and see what the final policies are on tariffs before making too many changes.

Image via Ford