Inside the Chaotic Run-Up to Trump’s Tariff U-Turn

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By Gavin Bade, Ryan Felton and Chip Cutter

(The Wall Street Journal) — On Thursday afternoon, less than 48 hours before President Trump was scheduled to slap tariffs on Canada and Mexico, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles got on a call with representatives from nervous automotive companies.

The administration, the firms were told, was considering a carve-out for cars that comply with Trump’s North American free-trade deal—the main request of domestic automakers—according to people familiar with the call. The automakers came away feeling better about their chances of avoiding tariffs, the people said.

Less than an hour later in the Oval Office, Trump appeared to undermine his aides who were working to dial back his universal tariff threat, saying there was nothing the countries could do to stop the tariffs—and mentioned nothing about an automotive exemption. On Saturday, he said he would impose 25% tariffs on those countries—no exceptions, except for Canadian oil, which he hit with a 10% levy. Trump also announced additional 10% duties on China.