Trump extends tariff relief for U.S. auto industry

The Trump administration will extend current tariff relief programs for U.S. automakers and impose new levies on heavy trucks and buses.

The White House on Friday said it would extend current tariff relief programs for some of the country’s largest automakers. The Trump administration also laid out the details of promised tariffs on heavy trucks and buses.

In late April, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to prevent automobile and auto parts tariffs from stacking on top of each other, which could add up quickly for North American automakers.

Trump’s order also gave automakers relief from separate tariffs that he applied to steel and aluminum products. The latest announcement will extend a tariff offset program from two years to five.

“The priority is to expand domestic vehicle production in the United States to ensure that we have good, high-paying jobs for American workers,” a senior administration official said Friday.

Automakers often assemble some parts of a vehicle or key components in Mexico or Canada, and then import the unfinished pieces to the U.S. to be completed. Those components and parts can cross the border multiple times, racking up multiple rounds of tariffs.