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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is granting a one-month exemption on his stiff new tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada for U.S. automakers, as worries persist that the newly launched trade war could crush domestic manufacturing.

The pause comes after Trump spoke with leaders of the “big 3” automakers, Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, on Wednesday, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Asked if 30 days was enough for the auto sector to prepare for the new taxes, Leavitt said Trump was blunt with the automakers seeking an exemption: “He told them that they should get on it, start investing, start moving, shift production here to the United States of America where they will pay no tariff.”

Shares of big U.S., Asian and European automakers jumped as much as 6% after the announcement.

Pausing the 25% taxes on autos traded through the North American trade pact USMCA would only delay a broader reckoning to take place on April 2, when Trump is set to impose broad “reciprocal” tariffs to match the taxes and subsidies that other countries charge on imports.

Leavitt said the president is “open” to hearing requests from other industries seeking exemptions as well.

The White House repeatedly insisted that it would not grant exemptions and the sudden turnaround reflects the economic and political problems being created by Trump's day-old tariffs. While the Republican president sees them as enriching the United States, his plans to tax imports have alienated allies and caused anxiety about slower economic growth and accelerating inflation.

Trump has long promised to impose tariffs, but his opening weeks in the White House have involved aggressive threats, surprise suspensions and allies unclear at what the U.S. president is actually trying to achieve. Based off various Trump administration statements, the tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China imposed on Tuesday are about stopping illegal immigration, blocking fentanyl smuggling, closing the trade gap, balancing the federal budget and other nations showing more respect for Trump.

The U.S. president engaged in a phone call on Wednesday with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had suggested that the administration was looking to meet Canada and Mexico “in the middle.”

But Trudeau refused to lift Canada’s retaliatory tariffs so long as Trump continues with his new taxes on imports from Canada, a senior government official told The Associated Press. The official confirmed the stance on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

“Both countries will continue to be in contact today,” Trudeau’s office said.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford earlier told The AP that the auto sector in the U.S. and Canada would last approximately 10 days before they start shutting down the assembly lines in the U.S. and in Ontario.

“People are going to lose their jobs,” he said.

The prospect of a trade war appears to be an ongoing feature of the Trump administration, rather than a brief skirmish. In addition to his upcoming reciprocal tariffs that could strike the European Union, India, Brazil, South Korea, Canada and Mexico, Trump wants to tax imports of computer chips, pharmaceutical drugs and autos. He also closed exemptions on his 2018 steel and aluminum tariffs and is investigating tariffs on copper as well.

Tariffs are taxes paid by importers in the countries receiving the goods, so the cost could largely be passed along to U.S. consumers and businesses in the form of higher prices. In his Tuesday night speech to a joint session of Congress, Trump tried to minimize the financial pain as a “ little disturbance.”

“It may be a little bit of an adjustment period,” he said after claiming that farmers would benefit from reciprocal tariffs on countries that have tariffs on U.S. exports. “You have to bear with me again and this will be even better.”

The U.S. president has predicted that tariffs will lead to greater investment inside the United States, creating more factory jobs and boosting growth in the long term.

On Tuesday, Trump put 25% taxes on imports from Mexico and Canada, taxing Canadian energy products such as oil and electricity at a lower 10% rate. The president also doubled the 10% tariff he placed on China to 20%.

The administration has claimed that the tariffs are about stopping the smuggling of drugs such as fentanyl, with aides asserting that this is about a “drug war” rather than a “trade war.” U.S. customs agents seized just 43 pounds (19.5 kilograms) of fentanyl at the northern border the last fiscal year.

Trudeau said on Tuesday that his country would plaster tariffs on over $100 billion (U.S. dollars) of American goods over the course of 21 days, stressing that the United States had abandoned a long-standing friendship.

“Today, the United States launched a trade war against Canada, their closest partner and ally, their closest friend. At the same time, they are talking about working positively with Russia, appeasing Vladimir Putin, a lying, murderous dictator. Make that make sense,” Trudeau said on Tuesday.

Mexico indicated it would announce its own countermeasures on Sunday.

Beijing responded with tariffs of up to 15% on a wide array of U.S. farm exports. It also expanded the number of U.S. companies subject to export controls and other restrictions by about two dozen.

“If war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end,” China’s embassy to the United States posted on X on Tuesday night.

In response to China, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends” that the United States is “prepared” for war against the world's second largest economy.

“Those who long for peace must prepare for war,” Hegseth said Wednesday morning. "If we want to deter war with the Chinese or others, we have to be strong."

Leavitt is one of three administration officials who face a lawsuit from The Associated Press on First- and Fifth-amendment grounds. The AP says the three are punishing the news agency for editorial decisions they oppose. The White House says the AP is not following an executive order to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

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Gillies reported from Toronto.

NEW YORK (AP) — An insider account being billed as an “explosive dispatch” about “seven critical years” at Facebook/ Meta will be published next week.

Flatiron Books announced Wednesday that “Careless People” is scheduled for Tuesday. The memoir is written by Meta's former director of global public policy, Sarah Wynn-Williams, who left what was then Facebook in 2018.

“'Careless People' takes readers inside Meta’s board rooms, private jets, and meetings with heads of state, revealing the appetites, excesses, blind spots, and priorities of executives Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, and Joel Kaplan,” the publisher's announcement reads in part. “Wynn-Williams paints a portrait of this group as profoundly flawed, self-interested, and careless human beings, callously indifferent to the price others would pay for their own enrichment.”

According to Flatiron, Wynn-Williams will describe in detail Zuckerberg’s efforts to allow Meta in China and her own efforts to get the company to monitor hate speech and misinformation on social media. She will add everything from “shocking accounts of workplace harassment and misogyny to the grueling demands and humiliations of working motherhood during the same time that Sheryl Sandberg, was winning international acclaim for urging women to ‘Lean In.’”

Starbucks named a new chief financial officer on Tuesday as part of a larger turnaround strategy.

Cathy Smith, who has been Nordstrom’s CFO since 2023, will join Starbucks in the next month, Starbucks Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol said in a letter to employees. Smith previously served as the chief financial officer of Target and Walmart International.

Smith will replace Rachel Ruggeri, who is leaving the company. Niccol said Smith brings extensive experience in retail, global operations and corporate turnarounds.

Ruggeri will stay at Starbucks for a period of time to assist with the transition, he said..

“Over her nearly 20 years at Starbucks, Rachel has held many important roles, always leading with integrity, a focus on results and a strong belief in the importance of our culture,” Niccol wrote.

He said Smith brings extensive experience in retail, global operations and corporate turnarounds.

Niccol is trying to reinvigorate Starbucks' sluggish sales with faster service times, a less complicated menu and others moves he says are intended to restore a community coffeehouse feel to the company's stores.

In January, the company reversed its open-door policy and said only customers who bought something would be allowed to hang out or use the restroom at a local Starbucks.

Niccol, who joined Starbucks last fall, also has been reshaping the company’s executive ranks in an effort to streamline decision-making and make leadership more accountable. In January, the president of Starbucks’ North America division stepped down after her job was split into two; Starbucks now has one executive in charge of existing stores and another in charge of store development.

Late last month, Niccol announced a plan to lay off 1,100 corporate employees globally.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks tumbled on Wall Street Tuesday as a trade war between the U.S. and its key trading partners escalated, wiping out all the gains for the S&P 500 since Election Day.

The tariffs between the U.S., China, Canada, and Mexico helped extend a recent slump for U.S. stocks that was prompted by signs of weakness in the economy.

The S&P 500 fell 1.7%, with every sector in the benchmark index losing ground. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 722 points, or 1.7%, as of 11:03 a.m. Eastern time.

The Nasdaq composite fell 1.5%. The tech-heavy index is on track to posting a 10% decline from its most recent closing high, which is what the market considers a correction. Technology stocks helped drive much of the market's gains in 2024, but have been losing ground and acting as a heavy weight so far in 2025.

Markets in Europe fell sharply while stocks in Asia saw more modest declines.

The drops follow a steep sell-off Monday. Altogether, the decline has wiped out all of the markets’ gains since President Donald Trump’s election in November. That rally had been built largely on hopes for policies from Trump that would strengthen the U.S. economy and businesses. Worries about tariffs raising consumer prices and reigniting inflation have been weighing on both the economy and Wall Street.

Imports from Canada and Mexico are now to be taxed at 25%, with Canadian energy products subject to 10% import duties. The 10% tariff that Trump placed on Chinese imports in February was doubled to 20%.

Retaliations were swift.

China responded to new U.S. tariffs by announcing it will impose additional tariffs of up to 15% on imports of key U.S. farm products, including chicken, pork, soy and beef, and expanded controls on doing business with key U.S. companies. Canada plans on slapping tariffs on more than $100 billion of American goods over the course of 21 days. Mexico also plans tariffs on goods imported from the U.S.

The tariffs are prompting warnings from retailers, including Target and Best Buy, as they report their latest financial results. Target slumped 5.4% despite beating Wall Street's earnings forecasts. there will be “meaningful pressure” on its profits to start the year because of tariffs and other costs.

Best Buy plunged 14.2% after giving investors a weaker-than-expected earnings forecast and warning about tariff impacts.

“International trade is critically important to our business and industry," said Best Buy CEO Corie Barry.

Barry said China and Mexico are the top two sources for products that Best Buy sells and it also expects vendors to pass along tariff costs, which would make price increases for American consumers likely.

The warnings are coming in as companies close out their latest round of earnings reports. Companies in the S&P 500 reported broad earnings growth of 18% in the fourth quarter. Wall Street has already trimmed expectations for the current quarter to about 7% growth from just over forecasts of 11% at the beginning of the year.

Worries about profits follow a series of economic reports with worrisome signals that include U.S. households becoming more pessimistic about inflation and pulling back on spending. Consumer spending has essentially driven U.S. economic growth in the face of high interest rates.

Wall Street has been hoping that the Federal Reserve will continue lowering interest rates in 2025. The central bank has signaled more caution, though, partly because of uncertainty surrounding the economic impact of tariffs. The Fed is expected to hold rates steady at its upcoming meeting later in March.

The Fed raised interest rates to their highest level in two decades in order to tame inflation. It started cutting its benchmark rate in 2024 as the rate of inflation moved closer to its target of 2%. But, inflation remains stubbornly just above that target and tariffs threaten price increases that could fuel inflation.

In the bond market, Treasury yields sank. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.12% from 4.16% late Monday. It’s down sharply from last month, when it was approaching 4.80%, as worries have grown about where the U.S. economy is heading.

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AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Extinction is still forever, but scientists at the biotech company Colossal Biosciences are trying what they say is the next best thing to restoring ancient beasts — genetically engineering living animals with qualities to resemble extinct species like the woolly mammoth.

Woolly mammoths roamed the frozen tundras of Europe, Asia and North America until they went extinct around 4,000 years ago.

Colossal made a splash in 2021 when it unveiled an ambitious plan to revive the woolly mammoth and later the dodo bird. Since then, the company has focused on identifying key traits of extinct animals by studying ancient DNA, with a goal to genetically “engineer them into living animals,” said CEO Ben Lamm.

Outside scientists have mixed views about whether this strategy will be helpful for conservation.

“You’re not actually resurrecting anything — you’re not bringing back the ancient past,” said Christopher Preston, a wildlife and environment expert at the University of Montana, who was not involved in the research.

On Tuesday, Colossal announced that its scientists have simultaneously edited seven genes in mice embryos to create mice with long, thick, woolly hair. They nicknamed the extra-furry rodents as the “Colossal woolly mouse.”

Results were posted online, but they have not yet been published in a journal or vetted by independent scientists.

The feat "is technologically pretty cool,” said Vincent Lynch, a biologist at the University of Buffalo, who was not involved in the research.

Scientists have been genetically engineering mice since the 1970s, but new technologies like CRISPR “make it a lot more efficient and easier,” said Lynch.

The Colossal scientists reviewed DNA databases of mouse genes to identify genes related to hair texture and fat metabolism. Each of these genetic variations are “present already in some living mice,” said Colossal's chief scientist Beth Shapiro, but “we put them all together in a single mouse.”

They picked the two traits because these mutations are likely related to cold tolerance — a quality that woolly mammoths must have had to survive on the prehistoric Arctic steppe.

Colossal said it focused on mice first to confirm if the process works before potentially moving on to edit the embryos of Asian elephants, the closest living relatives to woolly mammoths.

However, because Asian elephants are an endangered species, there will be “a lot of processes and red tape” before any plan can move forward, said Colossal's Lamm, whose company has raised over $400 million in funding.

Independent experts are skeptical about the idea of “de-extinction.”

“You might be able to alter the hair pattern of an Asian elephant or adapt it to the cold, but it’s not bringing back a woolly mammoth. It’s changing an Asian elephant,” said University of Montana's Preston.

Still, the refinement of precision gene-editing in animals could have other uses for conservation or animal agriculture, said Bhanu Telugu, who studies animal biotechnology at the University of Missouri and was not involved in the new research.

Telugu said he was impressed by Colossal’s technology advances that enabled scientists to pinpoint which genes to target.

The same approach might one day help fight diseases in people, said Lamm. So far, the company has spun off two health care companies.

“It’s part of how we monetize our business,” said Lamm.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.