President Trump this afternoon announced a partial, 90-day pause on some of the tariffs that have rocked the international financial system in recent days. The White House later clarified that the move does not pause tariffs on new cars and car parts. Those remain in effect.
No Official Word Yet
The move came in a post on Trump’s Truth Social social media network. It has not yet appeared in any legal document, so the exact impact of the move is unknown.
Trump wrote, “I have authorized a 90 day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately.”
We will update this story when an official explanation is published.
Multiple Sets of Tariffs in Play
Trump announced tariffs specific to cars and car parts in late March. The move enacted a 25% tariff on finished vehicles imported into the country as of April 3, with limited exceptions for cars built in Canada and Mexico.
Trump also announced a 25% tariff on car parts, effective on or before May 3 (depending on when government regulators finish writing rules enforcing the levies). That will raise the prices of cars built in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, as automakers import many of the parts used in those cars.
Trump later announced “reciprocal tariffs” of at least 10% on every country worldwide. Those, however, specifically exempted cars and car parts.
The wording of Trump’s social media post suggested that only this later set of tariffs would pause. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent clarified in a White House news conference that Trump’s decision does not pause tariffs on cars and car parts.
