Trump Floats Auto Tariff Exemptions: Full Remarks from Oval Office with El Salvador's President

President Donald Trump said he is exploring possible temporary exemptions to his tariffs on imported vehicles and parts to give auto companies more time to set up US manufacturing.

“I’m looking at something to help car companies with it,” Trump told reporters Monday in the Oval Office. “They’re switching to parts that were made in Canada, Mexico and other places, and they need a little bit of time, because they’re going to make them here.”
The president was asked what short-lived product exclusions he was considering but did not specify how long a potential pause or lowering of auto levies would remain in place.

The president’s comments could potentially bring relief to automakers reeling from his duties on car and light truck imports, but they also inject further uncertainty into his tariff plans. Shares of General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler parent Stellantis NV hit session highs after Trump’s comments, reversing earlier declines.

Levies on auto imports have threatened to raise prices for American consumers and wreak havoc on auto supply chains, which are deeply integrated across the US, Canada and Mexico. Trump has argued the duties are necessary to revive American manufacturing.

Trump imposed a 25% tariff on fully built vehicles, with duties on parts set to take effect no later than May 3. His separate tariffs on Canada and Mexico already contain a carveout for vehicles with enough domestic content to meet requirements under the existing North American trade agreement.

Detroit’s Big Three automakers for weeks have lobbied the Trump administration to exclude certain low-cost car components from planned tariffs. Ford, GM and Stellantis have conceded they’re willing to pay tariffs on completed cars and large components like engines and transmissions, according to people familiar with the matter.

“There has to be a runway of some kind to make the changes the administration would like to see,” said Mitch Zajac, an automotive and supply chain attorney with Butzel Long in Detroit. “If we have to do this, it can’t be done overnight.”

The President also  said that he asked his counterpart Nayib Bukele if El Salvador could build more prisons to jail as many American criminals as possible — US citizens included. 

Seated next to President Bukele in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said the US could help the Central American nation add more prisons, praising them as “great facilities.” 

Pharmaceutical Imports
The US president also said Monday he anticipated rolling out tariffs on pharmaceutical imports in the “not too distant future.”

Trump’s frequent shifts on his sweeping tariff plans have sent confusing signals to markets, companies and trading partners grappling with how to engage a White House pledging to negotiate dozens of new agreements aimed at shrinking trade imbalances. 

The president on Monday touted exclusions for popular consumer electronics from 125% tariffs on China and a 10% baseline global tariff as beneficial for American tech giant Apple Inc. and also touted US investments by AI chipmaker Nvidia Corp. 

“Look, I’m a very flexible person, I don’t change my mind, but I’m flexible,” Trump told reporters. 
“I helped Tim Cook recently and that whole business,” the president continued, referring to the Apple chief executive officer. “I don’t want to hurt anybody. But the end result is we’re going to get to the position of greatness for our country.”

Trump signaled over the weekend however that relief for tech products will be short lived, with him and his aides saying that those imports will eventually be hit with a different, sector-specific tariff.

Watch his full remarks alongside El Salvador's President, plus questions with reporters from the Oval Office.

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