The Trump administration announced on Monday it is dialing back on a set of trade tariffs imposed on auto parts after China quietly reduced duties on US semiconductors and pharmaceuticals last week. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump told news publication The Atlantic yesterday that he now “runs the world.”
Late Monday, the White House announced that “double taxation” on certain imported car components used in US vehicle assembly will be removed. The decision followed voices of opposition from American auto industry leaders, who warned that the proposed 25% tariffs would cause sellers to hike prices and depress car sales across the country.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called the move a win for the president’s pro-manufacturing agenda. “This agreement is a major victory for the president’s trade policy,” Lutnick said, adding that it “rewards companies that manufacture domestically and provides an opportunity for others to expand in America.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday that the next steps are now “up to China.”
Trump opens up in candid Atlantic interview
In the interview with The Atlantic, conducted via cellphone and inside the Oval Office on April 24, Trump boasted of being both emboldened and untouchable.
“In my first term, I had two things to do, run the country and survive,” he told the magazine. “Now, I run the country and the world.” He described his second term as “a lot of fun.”
So Trump eases on what is a double "taxation" on autos from foreign auto parts and China makes it so its Boeing planes fly safely and the futures are happy!
— Jim Cramer (@jimcramer) April 29, 2025
The interview came about after journalists Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer cold-called his cell at around 10:45 AM Saturday. Trump answered, reportedly asking, “Who’s calling?” before inviting them and editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg to a follow-up Oval Office sit-down.
The president’s feud with Goldberg goes back years, including over a 2020 article alleging that Trump called fallen American soldiers “suckers” and “losers,” which he continues to deny.
Trump addressed the discussion around the encrypted messaging leak, saying he supported Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who had reportedly used the app to discuss classified issues.
“I think he’s gonna get it together,” Trump said. “I had a talk with him, a positive talk.”
When asked about reports that American citizens may have been wrongly swept up in immigration enforcement operations, the POTUS was unfazed. “Let me tell you, nothing will ever be perfect in this world,” he concluded.
Tariffs, tech, and trade deals
As reported by Cryptopolitan, in mid-April, the White House suspended duties on some consumer electronics and launched a probe into foreign-made trucks. The administration maintains that a baseline 10% tariff, in effect since April 5, is still active across targeted goods.
The US administration had insinuated that more trade deals may be finalized in the coming weeks. In a separate interview with Time, the president said he was sure several agreements would “fall into place” over the next month.
Inside the West Wing, Trump’s aides appear to be adjusting to a second term shaped even more by his impulsive style. One unnamed advisor told The Atlantic that staff have adopted a simple rule: only act on Trump’s instructions if he says them more than once. “He says a lot of shit,” the aide said.
The president also praised some of his former critics in Silicon Valley, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, calling the tech billionaires “great.”
China, excluded from the recent pause on several US tariffs, is looking to build alliances elsewhere. Chinese Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian published an op-ed on Friday, coining Trump’s trade agenda as a regression to “the law of the jungle.”
“China stands ready to work with all parties to oppose all forms of hegemony and bullying resolutely,” Xiao wrote.
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