Trump said private companies will experience a “transition period” as his tariff policies take effect, framing it as a necessary pain to spur U.S. manufacturing.
He maintained he is “flexible,” however, pointing to his decision this week to amend the tariffs he placed on car manufacturers as an example.
“Now with the cars, I’m getting a 25% tariff for the people. We’re taking in billions and billions of dollars, but they’re hurt because they can’t switch over 100% of the content of the car within a very short period of time,” Trump said during a NewsNation town hall. “So I gave them a short period, two years, where they have to be switched over 100%, where every single part in the car is made in the USA.”
“And if I didn’t do that, it would be very tough for these companies and these companies — it’s a transition period,” he said later.
Trump used the same phrasing in an interview with ABC News yesterday when he was asked about Americans’ potentially facing economic hardship due to the tariffs.
