President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday afternoon softening tariffs on imported car and car parts, in a reprieve to auto-manufacturers who had protested the levies.

While 25 percent taxes will remain on imported vehicles, the White House is changing the tariffs to ensure that they are not “stacked” on top of other levies, such as for the steel and aluminum commonly used in automobiles, according to senior Commerce Department officials. Auto companies that finish building cars in the United States will also get some relief from tariffs on imported auto parts for two years.

“It’s a little bit of help,” Trump said at the White House on Tuesday before boarding a flight to Michigan, where he will hold a rally to mark the first 100 days of his second term. “It’s a little transition.”

The new executive order, announced on the social media platform X, marked the White House’s latest retreat in recent weeks on steep levies imposed on imports from foreign trading partners. The White House has faced criticism and swooning financial markets, which has resulted in a three-month delay in some of the steepest tariffs and temporary exemptions from import duties for some electronic products benefiting large tech firms, including Apple, HP and Dell.

U.S. automakers have said the auto levies as previously announced would raise production costs and hit their profits. The auto industry is one of the biggest drivers of manufacturing sector jobs in the U.S. economy. And Stellantis, one of Detroit’s Big Three automakers, announced temporary layoffs due to the tariffs, the company has said.

The tariff relief to be announced Tuesday for auto components will also benefit foreign auto manufacturers as long as they build their cars in the United States, a provision designed to encourage the companies to bring auto factory jobs to the United States. Auto parts from Canada and Mexico compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement will remain duty-free.

The White House announced plans in March to impose a 25 percent tariff on imported automobiles and auto parts, betting that consumers would buy more expensive cars in the short term in exchange for the return of lost manufacturing jobs. The levies on automobiles went into effect April 3, as automakers warned that it could take years to build up U.S. manufacturing capacity. The tariff was added to an existing 2.5 percent levy on imported cars, making the total charge 27.5 percent.

Trump’s auto sector tariffs threatened an industry dependent on cross-border supply chains. GM, Ford and Stellantis vehicles sold in the United States are built from supply chains that zigzag across the North American countries, and receive parts from Asia and Europe.

A senior Commerce Department official said Tuesday that automakers that complete cars in the United States will receive an offset to the 25 percent tariff on imported auto parts that would be equivalent to 15 percent of a car’s retail price tag for the first year. The next year, the offset drops to 10 percent of the car’s price tag.

The Trump administration has not yet published the executive order.

“Getting rid of the stacking will make automakers’ lives easier” in the short term, said Bill Reinsch, a former Commerce Department official and now a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank, adding that in the long term the price of car ownership could soar. “Cars will be more expensive regardless. It’s a question of how much more expensive.”

U.S. automakers praised Trump’s relief from the tariffs.

“We believe the President’s leadership is helping level the playing field for companies like GM and allowing us to invest even more in the U.S. economy,” Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, said in a statement. “We appreciate the productive conversations with the President and his Administration and look forward to continuing to work together.”

Matt Viser and David Lynch contributed to this report.