Trump to Sign Order Later Tuesday Easing Auto Tariff Impact: Full Bessent WH Briefing Q&A

President Donald Trump is scheduled to sign an executive order easing the impact of his auto tariffs, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

Leavitt said the administration would release the text of the directive, detailing the specifics of the action, later on Tuesday. The order is expected to include changes sought by the industry that would lift some levies on foreign parts for cars and trucks made inside the US.

Imported automobiles also would be given a reprieve from separate tariffs on aluminum and steel, an effort to prevent multiple levies from stacking on top of each other, a White House official said Monday.

“President Trump has had meetings with both domestic and foreign auto producers, and he’s committed to bringing back auto production to the US,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters on Tuesday. “So we want to give the automakers a path to do that quickly, efficiently and create as many jobs as possible.”

The planned policy shift comes as Trump prepares to travel to Michigan, the heart of the American automobile industry, to mark the first 100 days of his second term in the White House. He is slated to give a speech in Macomb County, a carmaking hub and bastion of blue-collar workers the president says his tariff are meant to help.

“This deal is a major victory for the president’s trade policy by rewarding companies who manufacture domestically while providing runway to manufacturers who have expressed their commitment to invest in America and expand their domestic manufacturing,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in an emailed statement.

Shares in Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. were up around 1% in premarket trading in New York. Stellantis NV’s stock is up about 2% in Milan.

The pivot represents the latest evolution in Trump’s ever-changing trade strategy, following his decision earlier this month to pause higher tariffs on dozens of trading partners to allow time for negotiations.

The changes come just before the 25% tariffs on foreign auto parts are set to take effect May 3. Under the planned revisions, automakers would be able to secure a partial reimbursement for tariffs on imported auto parts, based on the value of their US car production, according to the official.

The extent of those reimbursements would decline over time — with a phase out meant to prod automakers to shift more of their supply chain into the US, while also giving them time to adapt.

In a separate move, Trump is poised to ensure imported autos aren’t double-tariffed by also paying other levies on steel and aluminum.

Automakers, dealers and parts suppliers had pleaded for some relief, warning that Trump’s tariffs risked upsetting a tightly knit North American supply chain.

“Ford welcomes and appreciates these decisions by President Trump, which will help mitigate the impact of tariffs on automakers, suppliers and consumers. We will continue to work closely with the administration in support of the president’s vision for a healthy and growing auto industry in America,” Ford Chief Executive Officer Jim Farley said in a statement.

Mary Barra, the CEO of GM, said in a statement that “we believe the president’s leadership is helping level the playing field for companies like GM and allowing us to invest even more in the US economy.”

Stellantis in a statement said it “appreciates the tariff relief measures decided by President Trump,” adding it will “further assess the impact of the tariff policies” and looks forward to collaborating with US officials to “stimulate exports."

Industry groups said in a letter to the administration last week that duties on imported auto parts could raise costs for US manufacturing facilities, jeopardizing efforts to revitalize domestic carmaking.

Trump earlier this month signaled he was sympathetic to auto companies’ concerns, telling reporters that carmakers using parts from Canada, Mexico and other countries “need a little bit of time, because they’re going to make them here.”

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