President Donald Trump said he chose to delay the United States’s tariffs on Mexico and Canada to give automakers in the U.S. “a break” before the tariffs are implemented next month.
“I wanted to help the American carmakers until April 2,” Trump explained in a one-on-one interview with Fox Business’s Maria Bartiromo. “April 2, it becomes all reciprocal. What they charge us, we charge them. It’s a big deal.”
The Trump administration granted U.S. automakers the one-month break earlier this week, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt adding that the president has stressed that these automakers should “start investing” in the U.S. in the meantime. In the new interview, Trump said that he felt this was “a fair thing to do” for U.S. automakers.
Trump also hinted that the U.S. tariffs “could go up as time goes by,” adding how “the globalists” have been ripping off the U.S. The president previously warned that any retaliatory tariffs issued by Canada against the U.S. would be matched.
The president’s full interview with Bartiromo will air on Sunday on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo, which airs at 10 a.m. ET.
TRUMP TAKES A CONSEQUENTIAL GAMBLE PULLING THE TRIGGER ON TARIFF THREATS
On Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed that Trump’s “America First” agenda works best when both Canada and Mexico are also prospering. Trudeau predicted the “trade war” that Canada is in with the U.S. will continue “for the foreseeable future.” Trump has speculated that the Canadian prime minister is seeking to use the friction between Canada and the U.S. to seek another term in office, even though Trudeau revealed in January that he would be stepping down from his position.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), a vocal critic of tariffs, has vowed to continue his opposition. The Kentucky senator has said that “almost every industry” in his state has informed him that the tariffs would increase the price of homes and cars.
