Trump tariffs live updates: Trump says US and China are discussing a deal

President Donald Trump said Monday he's considering tariff exemptions on imported components for U.S. auto manufacturers as they switch to parts manufactured in the U.S.

"I'm looking at something to help some of the car companies where they're switching to parts that were made in Canada, Mexico and other places," Trump said. "And they need a little bit of time. Because they're going to make them here. But they need a little bit of time. So I'm talking about things like that."

Tariffs of 25% on vehicles imported into the United States went into effect earlier this month. Tariffs of 25% on imported auto parts, including engines and electrical components, are set to go into effect later.

President Donald Trump said former President Joe Biden allowed China and other countries to "fleece us," but he doesn't blame China.

"I don't blame China. I don't blame Vietnam," he said, referring to meetings on trade between the two countries on Monday.

"I see the meeting today, is that wonderful? That's a lovely meeting. We're meeting, like trying to figure out how do we screw the United States of America?" he said. "Don't forget, the European Union was formed to do just that. The European Union was formed to hurt the United States and -- and on trade, and to get us on NATO because they don't pay their bills."

Asked about the exemptions from tariffs on some electronics that were announced over the weekend, President Donald Trump said he can be flexible but didn't offer any specifics.

"Look, I'm a very flexible person. I don't change my mind, but I'm flexible, and you have to be. You just can't have a wall, and you'll only go, you know, sometimes you have to go around it under it or above it," he said. "There'll be maybe things coming up. I speak to [Apple CEO] Tim Cook. I helped Tim Cook recently, and that whole business. I'm not --I don't want to hurt anybody."

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced late Friday night that smartphones, computers, chips and other electronics would be exempted from Trump's reciprocal tariffs.
But Trump and his economic advisers stressed over the weekend that any reprieve would be temporary, with specific tariffs to be imposed on goods put under a new national security classification.

President Donald Trump said he’ll impose tariffs on pharmaceuticals, but he wouldn’t say at what rate or when those would be implemented.

The president compared potential tariffs on pharmaceuticals to those he had imposed on other products.

“That's going to be like we have on cars. We have us, you know, a 25% tariff on cars, we have a 25% tariff on steel. And aluminum,” he said on Monday while meeting with El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.

Asked for a percentage or a timeline, Trump responded, “I have a timeline, yeah -- not too distant future.”