Auto parts imported to the U.S. under North American free trade rules will continue to be exempted — for now — from new tariffs on heavier-duty trucks and components set to go into effect next month, the White House said Friday.
U.S. President Donald Trump signed the new trade proclamation aboard Air Force One that expands his 25 per cent auto tariffs to cover medium and heavy-duty trucks and parts. It also sets a 10 per cent duty for imported transit and school buses, as well as motorcoaches.
The tariffs go into effect Nov. 1.
The proclamation makes official what Trump announced earlier this month on his Truth Social website.
A White House fact sheet on the policy said truck parts compliant with the Canada-U.S. Mexico Agreement on free trade (CUSMA) will continue to be exempt from the tariffs, the same as parts for light trucks and cars currently are.
However, that exemption could end after the Trump administration establishes “a process to apply tariffs to non-U.S. content of the parts,” the statement said.
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Medium and heavy-duty trucks built in Canada and shipped to the U.S. under CUSMA rules will also only face tariffs on non-U.S. components, the White House said. That policy mirrors the one in place for lighter autos as well.
The CUSMA exemption does not appear to apply to the 10 per cent tariffs on buses.
The Trump administration is also working on an offset program for American automakers that still need to source foreign parts as companies move production to the U.S.
The new tariffs are the latest effort by Trump to incentivize domestic auto manufacturing, which has upended the highly integrated North American supply chain.
Trump has invoked Section 232 national security concerns under U.S. law to justify the tariffs, the same provision used to tariff foreign steel, aluminum and other industries.
Earlier this week, Stellantis said it was moving Jeep production from Brampton, Ont., to Illinois while boosting its U.S. investments, angering Canadian officials.
Canada, the U.S. and Mexico are currently undergoing public consultations and other work ahead of next July’s scheduled review of CUSMA, where auto manufacturing is expected to be a priority topic.
Separately, Trump and Prime Minister Mark Carney said during a meeting at the White House this month that their teams are working on “formulas” for cross-border auto manufacturing that protects both countries’ industries, while balancing cooperation with competition.
A day after that meeting, however, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the White House has taken the position of “America first, Canada second” when it comes to automaking, according to sources in the room for the virtual address at a closed-door event in Toronto.
—With files from Global’s Reggie Cecchini
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
