Trump weighs possible Canada, Mexico tariff relief ahead of announcement, Commerce chief says

The Trump administration will make an announcement later on Wednesday regarding U.S. tariffs imposed on Canada and Mexico as President Donald Trump weighs potential relief for some sectors such as automobiles, the U.S. Commerce Department chief said.

Speaking in an interview on Bloomberg TV, Howard Lutnick said Trump would make the ultimate decision on whether to grant any relief to certain industries but that the 25% tariff would remain with an eye toward renegotiating its pact with its two neighboring countries next year.

"The president gets to make the decision," the Commerce secretary said. "But our expectation is that it'll be categories. It will be 25%, but it'll be -- there will be some categories left out. It could well be autos. Could be others as well."

Lutnick said that the administration was looking at the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade (USMCA)and whether certain sectors had complied with the deal enacted under Trump's first term in office. Asked if autos could see an exemption from the tariffs that went into effect early on Tuesday, Lutnick told Bloomberg: "It's not really an exemption."

The Commerce chief did not say when the announcement would come on Wednesday, and Trump has no public events on his schedule following his late night speech to Congress on Tuesday.

Lutnick also said that wider reciprocal tariffs were still coming April 2, with some being levied right away while others could take weeks or months before being imposed.