By Gavin Bade and Alex Leary

WASHINGTON -- Automakers will get a one-month reprieve from tariffs on Mexico and Canada for cars that comply with a free-trade agreement between those two nations and the U.S., the White House said Wednesday.

The move follows a request from the heads of Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Stellantis NV, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, and would apply to autos imported through the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, the successor trade deal to 1994's North American Free Trade Agreement.

The companies didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The tariff exemption applies not only to those Detroit-based automakers, but to any cars from Canada and Mexico that comply with the trade deal, an administration official said.

Trump is also open to additional tariff exemptions such as those he granted to carmakers, Leavitt added. She again acknowledged that tariffs could cause some economic disruptions.

"The president is being frank and honest," Leavitt said, referring to comments Trump made Tuesday night at his speech to Congress that tariffs might prompt some economic disturbance.

The delay offers a weekslong respite for industry executives who were scrambling to mitigate the fallout from hefty tariffs on vehicles and parts. Still, it doesn't erase the threat posed by the bevy of potential tariffs floated by the administration, which has triggered months of contingency planning among automakers and suppliers.

"The American people elected this president to have monumental reform and change, including rebuilding our manufacturing base in this country, standing up to foreign nations who have been ripping off our country for decades, and that requires a little bit of disruption," Leavitt said.

Trump on Tuesday imposed 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10% tariff on China, rattling markets and sparking frantic negotiations between the U.S. and its continental neighbors. Major corporations such as Target have warned of consumer price increases because of the duties, imposed because of what Trump says is the nations' role in the fentanyl trade. But Leavitt batted away any anxiety over the tariffs.

"I think for folks on Wall Street who may be concerned, look at what this president did for you in his first term. Wall Street boomed. Stock market boomed. The president expects that to happen again," Leavitt said. "But most importantly, Main Street is going to boom."

Write to Gavin Bade at gavin.bade@wsj.com and Alex Leary at alex.leary@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 05, 2025 15:14 ET (20:14 GMT)

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