Global auto stocks fall as Trump tariffs spark trade war concerns [Video]

Employees work on the assembly line of new energy vehicles at a factory of Chinese EV startup Leapmotor on April 1, 2024 in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province of China.

Shi Kuanbing | VCG | Visual China Group | Getty Images

Shares of auto giants fell sharply on Monday, but were off their intraday lows after President Donald Trump said he is pausing his new 25% tariff on goods imported from Mexico until March 1.

Trump signed executive orders on Saturday to implement 25% tariffs on Mexican and most Canadian goods, while imposing a 10% duty on Canadian energy products and additional 10% on Chinese goods, which are set to take effect from Tuesday.

The deferment for Mexico followed the country’s president agreeing to immediately send 10,000 soldiers to the U.S. border to prevent drug trafficking from Mexico.

In the U.S., General Motors was 2% lower as of 11:30 a.m. ET, while Ford was down less than 1%. Shares of Teslawere …