Trump Threatens 'Border Tax' on General Motors Imports
President-elect Donald Trump renewed threats to slap heavy tariffs on U.S. auto manufacturers who move jobs overseas, in a Jan. 3 tweet (here) directed at General Motors and its production of the Chevrolet Cruze in Mexico. “General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to U.S. car dealers-tax free across border,” the tweet said. “Make in U.S.A. or pay big border tax!” A GM statement responding to Trump acknowledged that the company makes the Cruze hatchback in Mexico for global markets, “with a small number sold in the U.S.,” but noted that the company manufactures all Cruze sedans sold in the U.S. at GM’s assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio. Trump had previously expressed intentions to raise tariffs to 35 percent on car companies that move jobs to Mexico upon export of cars to the U.S. (see 1611150035).
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White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest on Jan. 3 said (here) at a press briefing that Trump’s threat to GM runs “contrary” to President Barack Obama’s trade policy, and raised concerns that higher tariffs could pass down higher prices to consumers and prompt other countries to retaliate through their own tariffs. “The incoming president was elected on a promise to try things different -- to try different things, and to do things differently,” Earnest said. “And we’ll have an opportunity to evaluate how well it works.”