The U.S. Is Tiptoeing Away From Many of Trump’s Signature Tariffs
The Trump administration is quietly watering down some of the tariffs that underpin the president’s signature economic policy.
President Trump in recent weeks has exempted dozens of products from his so-called reciprocal tariffs and offered to carve out hundreds more goods from farm products to airplane parts when countries strike trade deals with the U.S.
The offer to exempt more products from tariffs reflects a growing sentiment among administration officials that the U.S. should lower levies on goods that it doesn’t domestically produce, say people familiar with administration planning. That notion “has been emerging over time” within the administration, said Everett Eissenstat, deputy director of the National Economic Council in Trump’s first term. “There is definitely that recognition.”
The move comes ahead of a Supreme Court hearing in early November on the reciprocal tariffs—a case that could force the administration to pay back many of the levies if it loses in court. The White House, Commerce Department and U.S. Trade Representative’s office didn’t respond to requests for comment.
The shift on the reciprocal tariffs reflects the Trump team’s desire to hedge its bets should the court strike down its broad levies, according to people familiar with the administration’s thinking. At the same time, Trump’s team is expanding its use of tariffs based on more established legal authority:
Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Trump has already deployed that law to underpin tariffs on metals and automobiles, and this month announced a new tranche of duties aimed at heavy trucks, pharmaceuticals and furniture.
On Friday, Trump unveiled his latest action under Section 232, imposing 25% tariffs on trucks and truck parts, as well as 10% tariffs on buses, effective Nov. 1. As part of that action, Trump also expanded a tariff relief program for automakers, allowing them to apply for credits to partially offset the cost of tariffs on car and truck parts until 2030, instead of 2027.
Last month, Trump issued new exemptions for products from gold to LED lights and certain minerals, chemicals and metal products via a list called “Annex II” that includes many products that are or will be covered by the Section 232 levies.
He also previewed hundreds of potential exemptions to come in the future: The order includes a list of products that could receive zero tariffs under trade agreements with foreign nations that are being negotiated by Trump’s team. That list, dubbed “Annex III,” is aimed at “products that cannot be grown, mined, or naturally produced in the United States,” the order states, such as “certain agricultural products; aircraft and aircraft parts; and non-patented articles for use in pharmaceutical applications.”
The September order also allows new authority to the Department of Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative’s office to grant tariff exemptions themselves, without Trump himself issuing executive orders mandating the new carve-outs.
Grocery prices are on the rise, and evidence suggests President Trump’s tariffs aren’t helping. WSJ visited one regional grocery chain to see how tariffs are affecting a handful of popular items. Photo Illustration: Josh Lisanby
The move will help streamline tariff policy, a White House official said, so the administration doesn’t need to issue an executive order for every group of exemptions as it implements over a dozen trade deals Trump has announced, or arrives at new pacts.
The administration has already struck trade pacts with several trading partners, including major economies like Japan and the European Union. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Senate Republicans at a lunch meeting this week that more deals are on the way, said Sen. John Kennedy (R., La.), who was in attendance.
For months, administration officials led by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had insisted there would be “no exemptions, no exceptions” from Trump’s so-called reciprocal duties, originally announced in April. Lutnick has softened his stance publicly, saying in a late July television appearance that “if you grow something and we don’t grow it, that can come in for zero.”
Some protectionist Trump allies say the ramp-up in the so-called Section 232 tariffs will ultimately do more to bring manufacturing back to the U.S.
“It doesn’t make sense to impose tariffs on products the U.S. doesn’t have the capability to produce,” said Nick Iacovella, executive vice president at the Coalition for a Prosperous America, a protectionist group that advises the administration on trade. “Section 232 is the most effective tool.”
The Consumer Brands Association, which represents major food manufacturers, sent a letter to the Trump administration in March, urging officials to grant exemptions for goods like coffee, oats, cocoa, spices, tropical fruits and tin mill steel, used for food cans.
Many such goods are included in Annex III and potentially eligible for exemptions from countries that enter trade agreements with the U.S.
Candy giant Hershey said in May that it was “engaging with the U.S. government” to seek an exemption for cocoa. Duties on the commodity have added to problems for the Pennsylvania chocolatier, which also has been grappling with high prices for its core ingredient, and the company said it was using every lever at its disposal to get cocoa tariffs changed.
Some food companies have said they would raise prices to help offset rising costs from tariffs.
Others are trying to hold the line. Seafood company Chicken of the Sea, owned by Thai Union Group, said it is working to keep a lid on prices for its core canned-tuna products, despite tariffs on the fish. “It’s very price sensitive,” said Chicken of the Sea President Andy Mecs.
Certain tuna products are among the goods now potentially eligible for tariff exemptions. Mecs said that exceptions for foods like tuna are particularly important as the Trump administration pushes its “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.
“There are a lot of healthy food products that are largely imported,” he said.
