U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday suggested that he might temporarily exempt the auto industry from tariffs he previously imposed on the sector, to give carmakers time to adjust their supply chains.
“I’m looking at something to help some of the car companies with it,” Trump told reporters gathered in the Oval Office. The Republican president said automakers needed time to relocate production from Canada, Mexico and other places, "And they need a little bit of time because they’re going to make them here, but they need a little bit of time. So I’m talking about things like that.”
The statement hinted at yet another round of reversals on tariffs as Trump's onslaught of import taxes has panicked financial markets and raised deep concerns from Wall Street economists about a possible recession.
When Trump announced the 25% auto tariffs on March 27, he described them as “permanent.” His hard lines on trade have become increasingly blurred as he has sought to limit the possible economic and political blowback from his policies.
Last week, after a bond market sell-off pushed up interest rates on U.S. debt, Trump announced that for 90 days his broader tariffs against dozens of countries would instead be set at a baseline 10% to give time for negotiations.
At the same time, Trump increased the import taxes on China to 145%, only to temporarily exempt electronics from some of those tariffs by having those goods charged at a 20% rate.
“I don’t change my mind, but I’m flexible,” Trump said Monday.
Trump's flexibility has also fueled a sense of uncertainty and confusion about his intentions and end goals. The S&P 500 stock index was up slightly in Monday afternoon trading, but it's still down nearly 9% this year. Interest rates on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes were also elevated at roughly 4.4%.
Carl Tannenbaum, chief economist for the Northern Trust global financial firm, said the whiplash had been so great that he might have to “get fitted for a neck brace.”
Tannenbaum warned in an analysis: “Damage to consumer, business, and market confidence may already be irreversible.”
Maroš Šefčovič, the European commissioner for trade and economic security, posted on X on Monday that on behalf of the European Union he engaged in trade negotiations with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
"The EU remains constructive and ready for a fair deal — including reciprocity through our 0-for-0 tariff offer on industrial goods and the work on non-tariff barriers," Šefčovič said.
The U.S. president also said that he spoke with Apple CEO Tim Cook and “helped” him recently. Many Apple products, including its popular iPhone, are assembled in China.
Apple didn’t respond to a Monday request for comment about the latest swings in the Trump administration’s tariff pendulum.
Even if the exemptions granted on electronics last week turn out to be short-lived, the temporary reprieve gives Apple some breathing room to figure out ways to minimize the trade war’s impact on its iPhone sales in the U.S.
That prospect helped lift Apple’s stock price by about 3% during Monday’s afternoon trading. Still, the stock gave up some of its earlier 7% increase as investors processed the possibility that the iPhone could still be jolted by more tariffs on Chinese-made products in the weeks ahead.
Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said Apple is clearly in a far better position than it was a week ago, but he warned there's still “mass uncertainty, chaos, and confusion about the next steps ahead.”
One possible workaround Apple may be examining during the current tariff reprieve is how to shift even more of its iPhone production from its longtime hubs in China to India, where it began expanding its manufacturing while Trump waged a trade war during his first term as president.
The Trump administration has suggested that its tariffs had isolated China as the U.S. engaged in talks with other countries.
But China is also seeking to build tighter relationships in Asia with nations stung by Trump's tariffs. China’s leader, Xi Jinping, on Monday met in Hanoi with Vietnam's Communist Party General Secretary To Lam with the message that no one wins in trade wars.
Asked about the meeting, Trump suggested the two nations were conspiring to do economic harm to the U.S. by “trying to figure out how do we screw the United States of America.”
© Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
46 Comments
Mickelicious
How much did the sheister personally invest in automotive before the U-turn?
geronimo2006
Wrong. Companies need years to plan and build factories, which they probably won't do because he flip-flops all the time. Too much uncertainty. Meanwhile, people around him, like MTG, are making a killing and will continue to as long as they remain loyal. The art of corruption.
Sanjinosebleed
What a joke this guy is! Changes his mind faster than his underwear!
lincolnman
Statement, walk-back, statement, walk-back...rinse, repeat...
All this confusion, dysfunction and daily contradictions clearly shows these idiots have no idea what they are doing...
What Trump is doing is sending America's once good reputation as a trusted ally and trading partner into the gutter...
And who benefits from that? The two guys pulling his strings in Moscow and Beijing...
I'veSeenFootage
"Trump considers caving in again when he realizes how stupid his ideas are."
ThePunisher
Yet another backflip by the buffoon.
His low IQ supporters are desperately readying the spin. "It was always part of the plan....he's just shaking the system up...."
Capuchin
More of Trumps trademark "Leap before you look." approach to global politics.
wallace
Trump's tariff war changes daily, even by the hour sowing seeds of confusion for companies importing into America. Now, tariffs will be reintroduced on imported smartphones and electronic devices. Markets remain unsteady on the tariff news. Bond market selling off.
Tariffs will be placed on the semiconductor industry.
Bob Fosse
“I don’t change my mind, but I’m flexible,”
In the past I’ve defended him by saying I don’t think he’s stupid. But now I am quite sure he is a very stupid man.
quercetum
So we’re lacking the stick-to-it-iveness here. Once you make a decision you’ve got to see it through. Did he not anticipate the bond market response?
Spmeone who is indecisive is described in China and seen as kind, soft, hesitant and lacking fortitude. 躊躇する、優柔寡斷。
Going back and forth is clearly a sign of weakness. Trump is not authoritative enough
Btw, Japan is quietly unloading (April8th) and so is China.
Tokyo Guy
Remind me what dimension of chess we're up to now?
Tokyo Guy
MAGA must be close to running out of risible excuses. We've already had "keep them guessing" and "Biden Biden Obama er iPhones will be cheaper um er the Chinese will fold soon". New examples of semantic insanity inbound, no doubt.
WoodyLee
Dear Mr. Pres. Make Up Your Mind, Sir.
asdfgtr
Trump's cronies must be making a fortune from all the insider trading and stock manipulation.
GBR48
Are the hokey-cokey policies on taxiffs a way to manipulate markets, which those who know about it can profit from, or is he just hopeless? Nobody is going to relocate back to the US. It's not economically viable. The rich companies will pretend to, a little, until he is gone.
This is not how a respectable country is run.
As with Boris and Liz, he is shredding his nation's status and economy. Eventually the Tories had to get rid of Johnson and Truss. Maybe the Republicans will eventually realise that they are in the same boat, facing the same damage and will end up the same way.
Nations follow natural cycles of economic development. They start with manufacturing then offshore that and move to services and innovation. You can't freeze this process or rewind it to some rose-tinted past time. You'll just break everything as Brexit did. A good government assists those who have trouble as things change, whilst everyone else just gets on with it.
America really needs a basic competency test for future presidential candidates.
BeerDeliveryGuy
I wonder if the Tariffs extend to the defense sector, as the US does import a surprising amount of foreign arms.
Just off the top of my head…
H&K M27 rifles from Germany
Bushmaster 20mm cannon from Canada
Bofors 70mm naval gun from Sweden
Carl Gustav 84mm Recoilless rifle, Sweden
Fabrique Nationale M249 machine gun, Belgium
Glock 19 pistol, Austria
Reinmetal 120mm tank gun, Germany
Benelli shotgun, Italy
Simon Foston
Trump's just making it all up as he blunders along, isn't he.
ThePunisherToday 07:29 am JST
They can't back out now. It would be far too embarassing after all the ego they've invested in the unconditional love and admiration, and making out that it's everyone else who has the low IQs.
Wasabi
Flip flop or insider trading gain?
So much win maga, are you tired yet?
HopeSpringsEternal
Flexibility is the key, making sure the DJT policy agenda of US Auto Re-shoring takes place, but not breaking the industry and/or fueling inflation in doing so etc.
Many full and partial tariff waivers and exemptions will be provided, contingent upon companies meeting agreed upon re-shoring targets in 'realistic' timely manner.
It's not just autos, also happening with semiconductors and all other industries where re-shoring takes time.
NZ
as 2023hindsights wrote-DT is a pure idiot.
sorry abt harsh words but he is.
howgh
lincolnman
And the MAGA-infighting and knifing just continues to grow...
"MAGA guru Steve Bannon slammed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick Monday as “close to an unmitigated disaster.”
Lutnick, the billionaire Cabinet secretary who promised “no recession in America,” has become one of Donald Trump’s most prominent spokespeople on tariffs.
But Bannon—who is a major proponent of tariffs—turned on him in his podcast and linked him to Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO and DOGE supremo with whom Bannon has openly been at war. The intervention creates a new civil war inside MAGA, or at least a significant new front in the existing Bannon-Musk hostilities."
So is Bannon right MAGA-fans? Or is he cowardly slandering a fellow MAGA hero?
ROFL...
patkim
First he says the tariffs will stay in place, then he says they're negotiable, then he says they are both, fixed and flexible. Only he (and probably his rich inner circle) knows what will happen to the market as he controls it with the power to place or pause tariffs. Invest, or don't invest. Plan to build factories in the U.S., or don't. Business owners are held in a state of flux. Can they get their supplies? Or, should they plan to find them elsewhere? But many business owners can't afford to? What to do?
OssanAmerica
Really makes you wonder if Trump actually had/has a plan in place. Or did he start this whole tariff mess with only a "concept of a plan"?
The entire economic world, both U.S. and global, both allies and adversaries, are being put on hold, making planning nearly impossible in this chaotic uncertainty.
I can not help but think Trump is simply "winging it" as he goes along.
rainyday
No doubt with perfect comedic timing the Trump supporters will be on here soon to tell us once again that this was part of his brilliant plan all along and is definitely not him flip flopping again as his stupid trade war continues to blow up in his face.
Brings to mind the guys praising Putin's genius in 2022 every time he claimed to be making a "goodwill gesture" to the Ukrainians when his army was forced to retreat.
TokyoLiving
The little Duce plan is failing, will be a total disaster for US and this will strengthen China..
LOL
u_s__reamer
Trump is the tariff the MAGA millions dreaming on the Right decided to pay by installing the twice impeached incompetent felon in power so he could play "dictator for a day" and create chaos around the world with his cabinet of fools. The world cannot take 4 years of his dementia (nor will the "Deep State").
I'veSeenFootage
Still nothing for now. They probably haven't gotten their talking points from Tucker and Hannity yet.
Cephus
The left calls flexibility, flip flop which makes it more pathetic coming from people who changes gender daily according to the weather and where the wind is blowing. Tariffs adjustment will keep on occurring until it reflects the needs of industry specifics and that's not rocket science but economic 101.
HopeSpringsEternal
Massive amounts of new US auto production now busy re-shoring to the US, including in many cases, expanding production capacity of current production facilities, unlike Biden Admin where imports increased steadily.
The list is long, nearly every automaker has announced $major new CAPEX initiatives in US since Nov 5th, solely due to DJT election and campaign promises around tariffs and US re-shoring especially.
Above, why DJT, won Michigan, union vote, working and middle-class voters, across all demographic groups.
Turns out US citizens do not like the of outsourcing, which threatens jobs, wealth creation, tax revenues, economic growth, national security AND Innovation etc.
Elon Musk says outsourcing is too expensive, slow and risky, plus manufacturing fuels innovation related to tech, as tech. invades all industries, especially automative.
Naturally, Wall Street and Globalists love the outsourcing $gravy train and de-industrializing the US in order to try to expand their political power and thus they hate DJT.
Amber
HopeSpringsEternalToday 08:49 am JST
Flexibility is the key, making sure the DJT policy agenda of US Auto Re-shoring takes place, but not breaking the industry and/or fueling inflation in doing so etc.
This whole comment reads like someone who skimmed an Econ 101 textbook and thought, “Yeah, I got this.” Trump’s idea of “flexibility” is basically saying, “We’re going to hit you with tariffs… unless we don’t… but only if you promise to do a thing… eventually… maybe.” It’s like threatening to ground your teenager unless they promise to clean their room sometime before college.
And let’s be real — expecting re-shoring of autos, semiconductors, and everything else to happen “realistically” while also dodging inflation and not breaking anything? That’s not a policy. That’s a wish list scribbled on a Mar-a-Lago napkin between rounds of golf.
It’s like watching someone try to land a plane using a karaoke machine. Sounds confident, looks disastrous.
RichardPearce
Let's see, the car I'm driving is effectively a computer network on wheels.
But Trump is 'pausing tariffs' on cars and trucks to 'give manufactures time to adjust their supply chains' AND talking about increasing tariffs on the computers that go into them.
There's a definite disconnect between the 'reality' within Trump's skull, and reality outside it.
Pukey2
Every day, Trump caves in. And every day he digs a deeper and deeper hole for himself and his country. I knew there was a reason why I didn't mind Trump becoming potus.
Yrral
Lots of banks will be caught with bad loans, because business will not be able to pay back their loans,and default and who will pay the US taxpayer,Delta is refusing to take delivery of airplanes, because of Trump Tariff
R B Quinn
The convicted felon and former Insurrectionist-in-Chief is wrecking havoc on the world economy and has been diabolically successful in turning the world against the USA, with dire consequences.
He likes to be called Sir … indeed, Sir Liealot, you continue to confirm you are an unsteady dunce.
Nathaw
Trump trade policy and economic literacy is same as blind man driving the racing car with guessing the correct direction. Left turn, right turn, reversing and forwarding and making angle parking again. It is possible for driver to practice the guessing of his driving skills in his own backyard with minor damages of his car.
However it will cause the car crash and horrific accident in real traffic on high way. The law of the real road is different from making driving lessons at backyard. There will be no second chance from surviving of car crash.
Roman Emperor Nero loves playing fiddle while Rome is burning. At least he knew how to play the fiddle. Trump does not know how to play the fiddle.
Garthgoyle
His own words on that debate with Kamala in September 2024: "I have concepts of a plan."
Well, I'm glad reality is finally landing into him but he does sound like he really meant it back then; concepts of a plan. His ego, narcissism and condescending attitude, talking and bragging live, "*these countries are calling us kissing my a* to negotiate tariffs. Please, please, sir, make a deal...I will do anything, sir." He sets everything in motion without actually thinking things through. To then, reality hits him right on the face and it's time for damage control (when it's already late).
I kind of feel bad for the people having to legally talk on his behalf. Must be so hard being in the middle of live TV, the senate, etc. and "Oh crap. These guy just tweeted again. What now?"
HopeSpringsEternal
US economy handling Trump 'transition' tariffs and re-shoring nicely, as inflation and interest rates well below Jan 20th. Markets like his flexibility, achieving policy tariff, reshoring & economic goals with carrots and sticks.
Huge record $announcements for US based CAPEX by US and Non-US Corps, based on confidence in DJT, Apple, TSMC and Nvidia alone +1 $Trillion since election!
Key hurdle remains Congressional Reconciliation Budget, codifying important tax, regulatory and spending changes by US Govt. relevant to DJT's tariff, trade and economic policy, should happen by the end of May
Yrral
Welcome to Trump Casino,place all your 401 k on Red,this clown bankrupt a casino
stickman1760
Again, he’s backtracking. The Orange buffoon who cried wolf. What a clown.
Simon Foston
GarthgoyleToday 11:22 am JST
Never mind the penguins and the people on those uninhabited islands Mr. Trump, what about the Chinese?
Nibek32
Trump LOST the trade war.
oh yeah, and he has no idea what he is doing.
stickman1760
The only ones getting rich are Trump’s cronies. Talk to any working class Americans lately?
eventually everyone will realize he’s a massive fraudster.
Silvafan
Once again, Trump folds like origami!
The question is what is the scam?
Yrral
Stick, Trump cronies where waiting on deregulation,but it was uphended by Tariff
Erik
HopeSpringsEternalToday 11:58 am JST
the world's richest companies and countries now cutting record bespoke $deals with DJT
Oh absolutely, the world's richest companies and countries are lining up to cut deals with DJT—right after they finish negotiating with the Easter Bunny and Bigfoot.
wallace
HopeSpringsEternal
That is pointless unless:
They will employ more workers.
They will be paying more taxes.
They won't be receiving massive Trump subsidies.