Over the past 24 hours, the auto industry has experienced some of the most extreme whiplash in the saga of the Trump administration’s tariffs, ending on Wednesday night with two contradicting policy proposals coming out of the White House: China may be granted exemptions on auto part tariffs, but Canada’s car tariffs might increase.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said President Trump will not reduce tariffs on China without an agreement by both governments to de-escalate their trade conflict.

The Trump administration would look at lowering tariffs on imported Chinese goods pending talks with Beijing, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, adding that any action would be in conjunction with negotiations and not made unilaterally.