Trump to sign executive order on auto tariffs, White House announces

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on auto tariffs Tuesday, the White House confirmed amid reports that the administration will try to dampen the impact of the controversial levies.

Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt did not provide additional details on what the order would include, nor when Trump would sign it other than to say it would be signed later Tuesday. Leavitt said the text of the order would be released.

But the announcement comes hours after multiple news outlets reported late Monday evening that Trump will ease the economic blow of his global tariff war on the auto sector.

Bloomberg News reported that the order will lift some tariffs on auto parts imported from foreign countries to build cars and trucks in the US.

Imported automobiles would also be given a waiver from steel and aluminum tariffs to prevent multiple tariffs from stacking onto the goods, an anonymous White House official told Bloomberg.

"President Trump has had meetings with both domestic and foreign auto producers, and he's committed to bringing back auto production to the US. So we want to give the automakers a pass to do that quickly, efficiently and create as many jobs as possible," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters alongside Leavitt.

While the White House has not said when Trump will sign the order, he is expected to address a rally of supporters on Tuesday evening to mark his first 100 days in office. The event will be held in Michigan, home of the Big Three US auto manufacturers.

Asked about Trump's wider tariff war and ongoing negotiations with foreign nations to broker new trade agreements, Bessent said negotiations are continuing with 18 countries with additional meetings to happen with them "over the next few weeks."

Bessent demurred when asked if the US is holding tariff talks with China amid Beijing's ongoing denial, saying: "We're not going to talk about who's talking to whom, but I think that, you know, over time, we will see that Chinese tariffs are unsustainable for China."

"I've seen some very large numbers over the past few days to show if these numbers stay on, Chinese could lose 10 million jobs very quickly, and even if there is a drop in the tariffs, they could lose 5 million jobs," he said.

"They sell almost five times more goods to us than we sell to them, so the onus will be on them to take off these tariffs. They're unsustainable for them."