Donald Trump sent a message to General Motors: Make the Chevrolet Cruze in the United States or face a heavy tax.
“General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to U.S. car dealers-tax free across border,” Trump tweeted. “Make in U.S.A.or pay big border tax!”
GM, in a statement, stressed that it makes the sedan model of the Cruze at its plant in Lordstown, Ohio.
“GM builds the Chevrolet Cruze hatchback for global markets in Mexico, with a small number sold in the U.S.,
In December, Trump named GM’s CEO, Mary Barra, to a panel on job creation.
GM is far from the only automotive manufacturer that produces across the border: Ford, Honda, Toyota and Volkswagen also make cars in Mexico and sell in the United States.
Trump has repeatedly told automakers that he intends to impose a 35% tax on cars they build in Mexico for the U.S. market. Trump could not impose a tariff on a company unilaterally.
Before the election, he directed similar warnings toward Ford, which employs 8,800 people in Mexico, or about one-tenth of the jobs it has stateside.
Large tariffs would mean that Americans would pay more. When President Ronald Reagan put a quota on the number of cars Japan could ship to the United States, American carmakers hiked prices by $1,000 on average, knowing they would face less foreign competition.