President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on Oct. 17 imposing 25% tariffs on imported medium-and heavy-duty trucks as well as 10% tariffs on imported buses starting Nov. 1, in a move he has for months said would protect domestic manufacturers.

The program has been designed to incentivize automakers to build in the U.S. by offering rebates on certain auto parts that have to be imported while creating well paying jobs for Americans, a senior administration official told reporters in a call.

Trump, who had initially set the tariffs deadline in September for Oct.1, later moved it by a month.

Trump said the new heavy-duty truck tariffs were to protect manufacturers from "unfair outside competition" and said the move would benefit many companies.

“Our Great Large Truck Company Manufacturers, such as Peterbilt, Kenworth, Freightliner, Mack Trucks, and others, will be protected from the onslaught of outside interruptions,” wrote Trump in a Sept. 25 Truth Social post. “We need our Truckers to be financially healthy and strong, for many reasons, but above all else, for National Security purposes!”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce earlier urged the department not to impose new truck tariffs, noting the top five import sources are Mexico, Canada, Japan, Germany, and Finland "all of which are allies or close partners of the United States posing no threat to U.S. national security."

Mexico is the largest exporter of medium- and heavy-duty trucks to the United States. Imports of those larger vehicles from Mexico have tripled since 2019, according to Reuters.

Contributing: Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump signs order to impose 25% tariffs on certain trucks, and 10% on buses as of Nov. 1

Reporting by Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect