Unfortunately for automakers such as Ford, building a car in the U.S. is easier said than done. It took only a few hours for a Ford spokesperson to nix the idea in a response to an article by The Washington Times, a right-wing publication not to be confused with The Washington Post.
Trump cheers nixed Ford-China deal, says tariffs working: ‘This is just the beginning’ – https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/sep/9/donald-trump-cheers-nixed-ford-china-deal-says-tar/ …pic.twitter.com/BNW94baNRp
@mrlevine Sep 09 2018
Levine later expanded that last point with a tweet highlighting how large Ford’s manufacturing presence is in the U.S.
Ford has 85,000+ U.S. employees, including more hourly employees than any other automaker 3,200+ Ford dealers support another 166,140 U.S. jobs 80% of what Ford sells in the U.S. is built in the U.S. Ford makes more vehicles in the U.S. than any other automaker
@mrlevine Sep 09 2018
Jon Gabrielsen, a market economist who focuses on the automotive industry, was less kind to the administration when he spoke to the Detroit Free Press on the issue. “This is further evidence that neither the president nor his trade representatives have any clue of the complexities of global supply chains,” Gabrielsen said. “This forces Ford to forfeit the sales they would have had if they could continue to import that low-volume niche vehicle.”
The Focus Active may be the first car officially killed by the administration’s tariffs, but it likely won’t be the last. There’s also no way to know how many additional cars automakers would have chosen to sell here if the tariffs hadn’t been implemented.
On the other hand, if you start to see Ford employees wearing, “Tariffs not only impose immense economic costs but also fail to achieve their primary policy aims and foster political dysfunction along the way,” shirts, at least you’ll know why.
Source: Automotive News, Mike Levine via Twitter, Detroit Free Press