Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Wednesday that President Donald Trump may give some industries a temporary reprieve from his tariffs.
“There are going to be tariffs, let’s be clear, but what he’s thinking about is which sections of the market that maybe he’ll consider giving them relief until we get to, of course, April 2,” Lutnick said on Bloomberg Television on Wednesday.
Trump is considering doing “something in the middle” with Canada and Mexico to alleviate some of the pain from his tariffs, Lutnick said. An announcement is expected to be made sometime on Wednesday afternoon, he added.
The tariffs that went into effect early Tuesday include 25% duties on all Mexican goods and most Canadian goods, and 20% on goods imported from China. The duties on Canadian goods include a carveout for energy products, which will be taxed at 10%, in an effort to keep gas prices more manageable.
Most major U.S. industries are set to be impacted by the new tariffs, including farmers and restaurants, as well as retailers like Best Buy (BBY+0.96%) and Target (TGT-1.57%). The profit margins of the Detroit Three automakers will be wiped out without price hikes, according to Barclays.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said tariffs will only “increase the economic pain” being felt by Americans, warning that some companies it represents could be forced out of business. Stock markets plunged because of Trump’s tariffs, as well as retaliatory measures from other nations.
Lutnick said he thinks any relief will be considered for specific products that are compliant with regulations under the USMCA trade deal that Trump negotiated during his first term. The USMCA, which updated the NAFTA trade deal that governed U.S. trade with Mexico and Canada, is up for renewal in 2026.
“My thinking is it’s going to be somewhere in the middle. Not 100% of all products and not none,” Lutnick said. “I think Mexico and Canada are trying their best [to crack down on the smuggling of fentanyl into the U.S.]”
Almost 98% of fentanyl seized by Customs and Border Patrol was intercepted at the U.S.’ southwest border with Mexico, the BBC reported. Less than 1% was found at the northern border with Canada, and the remainder was found at other checkpoints. Canada and China have both questioned the Trump administration’s focus on fentanyl, calling it an excuse to issue his tariffs.
On April 2, Trump plans to issue his reciprocal tariffs, which will likely impact most nations the U.S. trades with. According to Lutnick, some of those new duties could go into effect as soon as April 2 or months from that date.
“Whatever they tax us, we will tax them,” the president said on Tuesday. “If they do nonmonetary tariffs to keep us out of their market, then we will do nonmonetary barriers to keep them out of our market.”
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