Stellantis, GM, and Ford go green on temporary auto tariff relief

Major automaker shares are experiencing a turnaround from Tuesday’s tariff sell-off.

GM, Ford, and Stellantis are all green Wednesday. Toyota and Honda are also up. The reason for the optimism? An official one-month tariff exemption for cars compliant with USMCA regulations, the trade deal established in President Trump’s first administration.

The White House confirmed the exemption on Wednesday afternoon.

Speaking to Bloomberg Television Wednesday morning, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had hinted that tariff relief was potentially being considered for certain industries and products, sending shares of carmakers higher.

“It could well be autos. It could be others as well,” Lutnick said, conjecturing on which products Trump may decide don’t have to face the steep levies. Lutnick later added that to his understanding, American carmakers Ford, GM, and Stellantis are all USMCA compliant.

Most American automaker shares are still down or flat in 2025, and it’s worth repeating that this exemption only buys the industry another month before the process rinses and repeats again. Trump has said he’s planning auto-specific tariffs as early as April 2. $279 billion worth of passenger cars, trucks, buses, and special-purpose vehicles were imported into the US last year.

This U-turn is reminiscent of last month’s auto seesawing around tariffs and tariff delays.

Note: This post has been updated to reflect White House confirmation of the one-month tariff exemption for US automakers.