President Donald Trump's decision on auto tariffs is due by Saturday, and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Thursday that any amount of actions could be taken after sources said the president plans to delay the plan for another six months.
"He could impose them on all or some of the countries," Ross told Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo. "He could impose a varying amount. He could decide that we made enough progress in our direct negotiations with the various automakers abroad...he could delay them or not just delay them. He could say the negotiations that Ambassador [Robert] Lighthizer, Larry Kudlow and I have had with the European, Korean and Japanese car people, he could allow more time for that."
Meanwhile, tariffs on steel and aluminum have remained in effect with Mexico and Canada for over a year, Ross said, but there are negotiations going on for other options. He added that Trump will not agree to a plan that takes back the benefits U.S. steel and aluminum have gained.
Mexico and Canada already have signed off on the USMCA, knowing the tariffs were in effect, so "we will be willing to try to accommodate them, provided we achieve a similar end result."
Ross Thursday also denied that the situation between the United States and China has worsened as the trade war between the countries heats up.
"Where we are is down to the real core of it. Are we going to have a structural change in the Chinese economy or not?" he said. "If not, we're just not going to do it..we need structural change."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.