US companies hit hard by Trump's tariff plans; can they expect relief?

Hours after US President Donald Trump declared a 90-day pause on the recently introduced reciprocal tariffs, he said that he is considering exempting certain US companies from the tariffs.

 

Trump made these remarks on Wednesday (local time) when he was asked whether his administration is looking at exempting some ‘large’ US companies who have been particularly hit hard by the tariffs. He noted, “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,” he informed the reporters.

 

 

He was further asked how the administration plans to decide on what companies should and should not be exempted, and he said it will be considered ‘instinctively’. He added, “You almost can’t take a pencil to paper. It’s really more of an instinct than anything else.”

 

His comment comes as a breather for US companies after he noted that some of the companies that have been hit by these tariffs are because of the industry they happen to be in, and not through any fault of their own. 

Jesus—Trump just said that he will be looking at exempting certain US companies from tariffs.  Reporter asks: “How will you determine that”  Trump: “Instinctively”.  Sounds like whoever will bend the knee and kiss the ring. pic.twitter.com/WmfZlRaOzE

— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) April 9, 2025

   

Trump’s tariff war 

On April 2, Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on 100-plus countries. These tariffs included a ten per cent base tariffs on all imported goods along with higher ‘reciprocal’ tariffs targeting countries separately. The list also includes India, which was imposed with a 26 per cent ‘discounted’ tariff, in comparison to its 52 per cent tariffs on US goods.

 

Following his announcement, several countries tried negotiating deals with the US to bring down their tariffs, with some even cutting them down to zero. However, China, on the other hand, retaliated and imposed reciprocal tariffs, thereby invoking a response from the US in the form of a 104 per cent tariff. Even as Trump offers a breather for most countries, the tariff on China continues to be in place.

 

Pharma tariffs 

Earlier, when the tariffs were announced, Trump exempted certain industries, including the semiconductor and pharmaceuticals. However, on Tuesday (local time), he announced at a gala dinner that ‘major’ tariffs on pharmaceuticals can be expected very soon.