US president Donald Trump says auto tariffs of up to 25% are coming, but not all will be imposed on April 2

United States president Donald Trump has said he will announce fresh auto tariffs on April 2, 2025, although there will be some leeway. As reported by Reuters, Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday (March 24) that not all the new tariffs would be announced next week, with “a lot of countries” set to get breaks.

The April 2 announcement – dubbed ‘Liberation Day’ – will see Trump announce “reciprocal tariffs” aimed at remedying he deems to be “unfair treatment” of US exports in foreign markets. “The president is determined to implement reciprocal tariffs that are very strong. People should expect that,” said a White House official.

In addition to auto tariffs, Trump said lumber and semiconductor chips will also be levied further down the road. While there are little details on what these reciprocal tariffs will be, Trump did confirm on Monday that 25% secondary tariffs will be slapped on any country that buys oil from Venezuela.

Since coming into office, Trump has imposed a 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico, although he later agreed to delay some auto tariffs after Ford, General Motors (GM) and Stellantis pushed for a waiver. Meanwhile, a 25% tariff on global steel and aluminium reports has been fully restored and imports that do not comply with USMCA free trade treaty are subject to a levy of the same amount.

China wasn’t left out either, with Trump initially announcing a 10% tariff before hiking it to 20% on March 4, 2025. In retaliation, China slapped the US with 10-15% tariffs on US agriculture and food exports, while 25 US firms have been slapped with export and investment curbs on the ground of national security. A 10% tax on large-displacement cars, pick-up trucks from the US was also announced.

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