U.S. President Donald Trump's administration's tariffs on imported cars and auto parts will cost automaker General Motors between $4 billion and $5 billion this year.

However, in an interview with CNN, CEO Mary Barra said the company doesn't necessarily expect to pass those higher costs on to consumers in the form of higher prices.

"We believe that. Prices will stay about the same as they are now," she said.

"Prices in our industry change at least monthly and sometimes more frequently. We're going to respond to the market," the CEO added.

The automaker does expect higher tariff costs to affect its earnings as it cut its profit forecast for the year, according to Barra's letter to shareholders released early this morning.

The letter and guidance were released on a delayed schedule Tuesday as the company reported lower first-quarter profit and awaited tariff changes from the Trump administration.

GM became the first major company to estimate in dollars what the high tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump will cost it.

Many other companies have abandoned profit forecasts because of the economic uncertainty that has arisen.

While GM is no longer the dominant global automaker it once was, it is still the largest U.S. automaker, with sales of 2.7 million cars and trucks in the United States last year.