Lutnick Offers Retroactive Auto Tariff Credit for U.S.-Made Cars, Cutting Billions in Expected Relief
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · May 28
Lutnick Offers Retroactive Auto Tariff Credit for U.S.-Made Cars, Cutting Billions in Expected Relief
2 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 28
October talks produced a pledge from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to give automakers a credit on foreign auto-parts tariffs for American-made cars, backdated to May 2025 when the levies began.
Those tariffs had threatened to cost carmakers billions of dollars, prompting months of lobbying, complaints and negotiations by executives seeking relief from the Trump administration.
Six industry executives said the eventual outcome left companies with billions of dollars less relief than they had expected, despite the retroactive credit offer.
The episode fits a broader portrait of Lutnick, 64, as one of President Trump's most influential deputies, using unusually aggressive and unconventional tactics shaped by decades running Cantor Fitzgerald and overseeing at least 818 companies.
Why did automakers receive billions less in tariff relief than promised, even after a Supreme Court ruling mandated refunds?
How can US manufacturers plan for the future when promised government relief proves to be billions short of reality?
With his testimony on past associations questioned, can the Commerce Secretary effectively navigate America's multi-billion-dollar trade policies?