Spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the exemption came at the request of General Motors, Ford and Stellantis
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OTTAWA — The White House announced on Wednesday the U.S. was providing a one-month exemption to automobiles covered by a free trade agreement with Canada and Mexico from the 25 per cent tariffs he slapped on both countries.
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Spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt announced the 30-exemption from the president during a press briefing that afternoon, saying it came at the request of the big three automakers, General Motors, Ford and Stellantis.
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“We are going to give a one-month exemption on any autos coming through USMCA. Reciprocal tariffs will still go into effect on April 2, 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,” Leavitt told reporters.
The auto-sector was one of the most vulnerable to job losses and shutdowns under a Canada-U.S. trade war, with leaders warning that could happen within a matter of days.
The announcement of Wednesday’s exemption follows a call between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Trump, which first the leaders held since Trump slapped 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian imports and Canada retaliated with 25 per cent tariffs, starting with $30 billion worth of U.S. goods.
Levies on another $125 billion worth of U.S. goods is set to kick in about 20 days.
A senior government source says the call lasted about 50 minutes and that Vice President JD Vance and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also joined.
Following the call, Trudeau’s office released a brief two-sentence statement.
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“The Prime Minister and President spoke today about trade and fentanyl,” it read. “Both countries will continue to be in contact today.”
A Canadian official, speaking on the condition that they not be named, told Bloomberg that Trudeau was against any sort of scenario where Canada would be asked to roll back its retaliatory tariffs in exchange for the U.S. lifting only some of its levies.
As the tariffs took effect Tuesday, Trudeau said his government’s focus was on getting tariffs lifted and that conversations with the country’s 13 provincial and territorial leaders were lasered in on how to apply pressure to the U.S., so Trump is forced to back down.
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Many provinces have pulled U.S. alcohol from their shelves and said that when it comes to procurement contracts, they will look elsewhere than American businesses.
The prime minister confirmed on Tuesday that while his government was looking at ways to support individuals through making adjustments to unemployment insurance, he emphasized how the priority could not be on how to “manage” with the tariffs, but on how to end them.
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Speaking Wednesday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Trudeau on his position that Canada will not compromise, meaning the country will not lift it retaliatory tariffs until the U.S. lifts all of theirs.
In Washington, Trump and members of his administration continued pushing their argument that the 25 per cent tariffs against Canada, which Mexico is also subject to, are related to the flow of fentanyl into the United States. Canadian energy is only subject to a 10 per cent U.S. tariffs.
Trudeau has roundly rejected Trump’s assertion the trade war has anything to do with the deadly opioid, which has fuelled an overdose crisis on both side of the Canada-U.S. border.
He said Canada kept its promise to announce new measures on how the tackle the spread of fentanyl, including by appointing a so-called “fentanyl czar” and listing drug cartels as terrorist entities, which Trump had asked of Trudeau last month as a way to choke their financing.
Trudeau said what he believes Trump wants is to attack Canada’s economy so that it would be easier to turn into a state, as Trump often says he wants to do.
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When it comes to the auto sector, Leavitt said Trump expects its biggest makers to shift production to the U.S. to escape tariffs.
“He told them that they should get on it, start investing, start moving production here to the United States of America, where they will pay no tariff. That’s the ultimate goal,” she said.
Leavitt also said Trump was open to other exemptions from his current tariffs. One reporter at the White House mentioned eggs, which saw its prices soar in the U.S. because of the bird flu outbreak ravaging the poultry industry.
“He’ll always do what he believes is right for the American people,” said Leavitt.
During an earlier announcement in Ottawa, Employment Minister Steven MacKinnon reiterated the government’s stance that the federal government would not accept lower or partial U.S. tariffs.
“I don’t think it is acceptable to Canada, in any way, that tariffs be imposed,” he said.
“They are unjustified, they are ill-considered, they will hurt Americans and they will hurt Canadians. So, Canada’s position is that there should not be tariffs at all.”
-With additional reporting from Bloomberg
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