Trump Considers Exemptions to Tariffs for Hard-Hit US Companies

President Donald Trump indicated Wednesday that he is open to providing exemptions from tariffs for US companies disproportionately affected, provided they are blameless, Fox News reports.

The remarks came during an afternoon press briefing where he and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent addressed concerns about the impact of tariffs on financial markets.

When asked directly if he would consider “exempting” larger US companies particularly hard-hit by the new tariffs, Trump responded:

“I’ll take a look at it as time goes by. We’re going to take a look at it. There are some that have been hard — there are some that, by the nature of the company, get hit a little bit harder, and we’ll take a look at that.”

The President explained that the decision-making process would be largely intuitive.

“You almost can’t take a pencil to paper. It’s really more of an instinct than anything else,” Trump said. “Some companies, through no fault of their own, they happen to be in an industry that is more affected by these things than others. You have to be able to show a little flexibility, and I’m able to do that.”

The Trump administration recently announced a 10% universal tariff on all imported goods, along with increased “reciprocal” tariffs targeting countries like China and the European Union. Following these announcements, a list of carve-outs was released, covering approximately $644 billion in imports, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

These exemptions include $185 billion in goods from Canada and Mexico, though these countries remain subject to other tariffs. The administration has also exempted certain industries, like pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, from the new tariffs, but Trump has suggested this could change.

These sectors are currently under investigation through a Section 232 probe, designed to assess the potential need for tariffs. Regardless of the probe’s outcome, Trump has signaled his intention to potentially impose higher tariffs on the pharmaceutical industry. Speaking at a National Republican Congressional Committee dinner on Tuesday night, he stated that “a major tariff on pharmaceuticals” would be announced in the near future.