President Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday that he will retreat some tariffs for car manufacturers, administration officials said, eliminating some taxes that Ford, General Motors and others have complained would be counterproductive for the manufacture of the United States through elevation. Lifting.
The changes will modify Mr. Trump’s tariffs so that automobile manufacturers paying a 25 percent tariff on car imports are not subject to other taxes, for example, in steel and aluminum, authorities said in a call with journalists on Tuesday.
Automobile manufacturers can also qualify for the relief of the rate for a proportion of the cost of their imported components, although these benefits will be eliminated in the next two years.
Speaking on Tuesday before leaving the White House, Trump said the administration wanted to help car manufacturers to “enjoy this small transition, in the short term.”
“If they can’t get pieces, we didn’t want to penalize them,” he said.
The decision to reduce the scope of rates is the last sign that the Trump administration decision to impose rigid taxes on almost all business partners has created chaos and economic uncertainty for US companies. But, even with the concessions announced on Tuesday, administration policies will add thousands of dollars to cars prices and endanger the financial health of car manufacturers and their suppliers, analysts said.
On Tuesday, General Motors left a previous forecast for a solid growth of profits this year as a result of the uncertainty created by Mr. Trump’s commercial policies. The car manufacturer, which sells more vehicles in the United States than any other company, said that any profit prediction would be an “assumption.”
“You can’t trust the previous guide,” said Paul Jacobson, Financial Director of GM, Duration said a telephone conference with journalists.
The car manufacturer also postponed a telephone conference with financial analysts to discuss its results of the first quarter, citing the expected change of the Trump administration to the tariff policy. The company will now make the call on Thursday.
Trump is expected to sign the order on Tuesday to put the changes in force. The order would appear on the same day Trump is scheduled to fly to Michigan, which is the home of the largest car manufacturers in the United States, for a speech that marks its 100 days in office.
Automobile manufacturers have welcomed any relaxation of tariffs, which said that would increase car prices, would cause sales to fall and threaten their financial viability. But the steps will leave in place a rate of 25 percent on imported vehicles that affect April 3, and a rate on cars that will enter into force on Saturday. That will still increase the prices of new cars and used by thousands of dollars and increase the cost of repairs and insurance premiums.
The measure occurs only one week after the administration exempt smartphones, computers, semiconductors and other electronic of their China Punishes on Conerns de Companses such as Apple that import taxes would cause the prices of US consumers to shoot.
On Tuesday, Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Commerce, said the changes voted for direct conversations with manufacturers of national cars, and that the administration had been in “constant contact” with the companies to analyze their business and make sure that the policy was exactly correct.
“Donald Trump and his presidency will bring back the domestic car manufacture,” Lutnick said.
Analysts have said that politics will offer the relief of car manufacturers, but that car manufacturers will still face a substantial financial impact of Trump administration tariffs.
An official of the Department of Commerce said in a call with journalists on Tuesday that for next year, car manufacturers will receive an exemption from the rate of 25 percent of imported car parts equivalent to 15 percent of the retail price of a car. In the second year, the exemption will be offered for 10 percent of the retail price of a car, but will disappear in the third year.
With the reimbursement in the rates for the automobile pieces, for example, the Barclays analysts calculated that a $ 50,000 car could contain parts worth $ 1,875 that would not be subject to the duration of the tariffs the first year.
The exemption buys some car creators, said Lenny Larocca, leader of the United States automotive industry at the KPMG consulting firm. “It gives them a little time to plan what their strategy could be,” he said.
But car manufacturers and suppliers say that three years is not enough for time to reorganize their manufacturing operations. Even if they do, they will not be able to make many components as cheap in the United States as they do in other places, which will lead to higher prices.
The latest rules also leave an exemption for the imported pieces of Canada and Mexico that a treaty occurred that Trump negotiated in cash his first mandate. Both countries are the main suppliers of the United States automotive industry.
Even cars manufactured in the United States generally use much more imported parts of those that would be covered by an exemption. Most cars also contain components of Japan, South Korea or China that will be subject to rates.
“The winds against the key tariffs remain,” Barclays analysts said in a report on Tuesday.
Automobile manufacturers will continue to be subject to other rates, for example, the rate of 2.5 percent that is generally paid in imported cars. The administration has not yet made public the text of the Executive Order, and many other details remain uncle.
Carm manufacturers will still pay tariffs on steel and aluminum indirectly. Their suppliers do not have an exemption and will transmit the cost of tasks to their customers, car manufacturers.
“Relief today does not solve the long -term challenge,” Bernstein analysts said in a note on Tuesday. “The prices of the American car are directed, just when the economic impulse fades.”
Neverberthes, car executives expressed their gratitude that Trump had approached at least some of his groups. In a statement on Monday, Mary T. Barra, Executive Director of General Motors, said the company appreciated “productive conversations with the president and his administration.”
“The president’s leadership is helping to level the field of playing for companies like GM and allowing us to invest even more in the US economy,” he said.
“Stellantis appreciates the tariff assistance measures decided by President Trump,” said John Elkann, president of the owner of Dodge, Jeep, Ram and Chrysler in a statement. “While we further evaluate the impact of tariff policies on our US operations, we expect our continuous collaboration with the US administration to strengthen a competitive US automotive industry and stimulate exports.”
The executives also hinted that they hope the conversations continue with the administration officials will lead to new concessions. “We will continue working in close collaboration with the administration in support of the president’s vision for a healthy and growing automotive industry in the United States,” said Jim Farley, executive director of Ford, in a statement.
The exemption seems to have been designed in part by Mr. Lutnick, who has played a role in obtaining lucrative exemptions for some industries in recent months. In a statement on Monday, Mr. Lutnick described the agreement as “a great victory for the president’s commercial policy.”
The agreement would reward companies “that they manufacture at the national level, while providing track to manufacturers who have expressed their commitment to invest in the United States and expand their national manufacture,” Lutnick said.
Neal E. Boudette Contributed reports.
