Trump will provide a “runway” to mitigate auto tariff impact

US President Donald Trump is planning to introduce cushions to his 25% tariff on all automotive product imports. According to a 28 April 2025 article by The Wall Street Journal, this relief will be applied in phases: a reimbursement up to 3.75% of the value of a US-made car in the first year, 2.5% in the second, and then nothing in the third.

This would be another significant concession for the all-encompassing tariffs the Trump Administration initially proposed. Companies importing within the terms of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement are also not immediately impacted by the 25%, though plans to establish a process for tariffing non-US content in these products are in the works. The reality that US supply chains cannot be changed quickly or easily might be actively reshaping trade policy.