U.S. exempts automobiles from 25% tariffs on Mexico, Canada for 1 month

Just one day after imposing a blanket tariff of 25 percent on Canadian and Mexican imports into the American market the Trump administration on Wednesday granted automobiles a one-month exemption.

Our Lee Eun-hee explains.

The United States announced on Wednesday that it would temporarily exempt automobiles from the 25-percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada for one month.

According to White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt during a briefing, the decision followed conversations between President Trump and the heads of the big three automakers, General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis.

"But at the request of the companies associated with USMCA, the president is giving them an exemption for one month, so they are not at an economic disadvantage.'"

The tariffs were implemented starting on March 4th, local time, with failure to deal with the trafficking of drugs, particularly fentanyl, into the U.S. cited as a reason.

Earlier the same day, President Trump also spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

In a social media post, Trump mentioned that he called Trudeau to discuss potential actions regarding the tariffs, and the call ended on a "somewhat friendly note."

He added that he told Trudeau that Canada's efforts to curb the flow of fentanyl were not enough.

Canada, which had swiftly imposed 25-percent tariffs on 20 billion U.S. dollars worth of U.S. imports in retaliation to the U.S. tariffs, took further action.

On Wednesday, it officially filed a consultation request with the World Trade Organization, citing the unjustified U.S. tariffs on Canada.

This means the disputing parties have sixty days to resolve the issue through consultations and if no agreement is reached, they can request a ruling from a WTO panel.

Lee Eun-hee, Arirang News.