President Donald Trump sat with Maria Bartyrome for “Sunday Morning Futures” of Fox News, where he mainly discussed the rates.
After his telephone conversation on Thursday with Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum, Trump announced on social networks that 25% tariffs on US imports of Mexico and Canada that are covered by the United States-Mexico-Canadá, or USMCA, or USMCA. The postponement lasts until at least April 2, when the reciprocal tariffs of the goods of a broader range of countries are in its place.
When asked on Sunday why he backed away or stopped some of the rates until April 2, Trump said it was to help car manufacturers. “Because I wanted to help Mexico and Canada to some extent,” Trump told Bartiromo. “I wanted to help American car manufacturers until April 2.”
President Donald Trump is on his desk at the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, on March 7, 2025.
Leah Millis/Reuters
“On April 2, everything becomes reciprocal. What they charge us, we charge them. It is a big problem, but what they charge us, we charge them. But this is in the short term, and I felt that for the sake of American car manufacturers and the [USMCA] … I thought it would be fair to do, so I gave them some rest for this short period of time. “
The president was pressed on what car manufacturers would do in a month.
“It’s a transition to April, and after that, I’m not doing this,” Trump said. “I mean, I told them, I said: ‘Look, I’m going to do this once. But after that, I’m not doing it.’ They called me and wanted help during this with the transition period, and I gave them to them.”
Trump was pressed on whether the business community will receive a clarity from it.
“Well, I think so. But you know, tariffs could upload as time passes, and they can go up and, you know, I don’t know if it is predictability,” Trump said, without offering information about his justification.
When Bartyrome asked him if he could change something after reciprocal tariffs come into force, Trump replied, in part: “We will have a lot, but we can go up with some tariffs. It depends. We can go up. I do not think we go down or can rise.”
-ABC News’ Kelsey Walsh
