Jeep Maker Urges Trump to Take Aim at Cars Without US Parts

The chairman of Stellantis NV urged President Donald Trump to refrain from putting tariffs on cars shipped from Canada or Mexico and instead focus on imported vehicles lacking any U.S. parts content.

“The real opportunity” for the administration to boost US jobs and investment lies with closing the “loophole” that currently allows roughly 4 million of those vehicles into the country annually, Stellantis Chairman John Elkann said Wednesday on an earnings call with analysts.

The scion of the billionaire Agnelli family made the comments hours before Trump told reporters that tariffs on Canada and Mexico go into effect April 2, roughly a month later than the White House has previously communicated.

Elkann’s comments are the latest example of how U.S. auto industry leaders are trying to convince Trump to spare them from 25% levies that had been set to take effect next week. Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley earlier this month said those duties would “blow a hole” in the U.S. industry and serve as a “windfall” for rivals that can import more freely from Asia and Europe.

U.S. auto executives and lobbyists argue that vehicles made in North America that adhere to parts-content requirements under a free trade agreement Trump renegotiated in his first term should be exempt from any new duties. The new levies could result in billions of extra costs for U.S. automakers and threaten both industry sales and jobs.

Elkann said the maker of Jeep SUVs and Ram pickups already produces vehicles with US parts content in line with rules set under the 2020 trade agreement.