'This Is Just The Beginning:' Trump Applauds Nixed Ford-China Deal, Promises Bigger Things To Come
More than a year ago, Ford Motor Company announced it would no longer be producing the Ford Focus in Mexico. Instead, it would shift production to China.
Now, that plan, too, has changed. Ford canceled the production plans for China, citing the tariff war, according to Bloomberg.
President Trump took to Twitter to express his excitement over the move. Not over a canceled deal, per se, but what it could mean for American workers:
“Ford has abruptly killed a plan to sell a Chinese-made small vehicle in the U.S. because of the prospect of higher U.S. Tariffs.” CNBC. This is just the beginning. This car can now be BUILT IN THE U.S.A. and Ford will pay no tariffs!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 9, 2018
He added an explanation regarding how auto tariffs between China and the U.S. have worked up until now. Trump made a case for fairness in trade with his tweet:
If the U.S. sells a car into China, there is a tax of 25%. If China sells a car into the U.S., there is a tax of 2%. Does anybody think that is FAIR? The days of the U.S. being ripped-off by other nations is OVER!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 9, 2018
However, his excitement for American workers may have been premature. The Washington Times reported that in a statement, Ford said production of the Focus would not shift to America.
“It would not be profitable to build the Focus Active in the U.S. given an expected annual sales volume of fewer than 50,000 units and its competitive segment. Ford is proud to employ more U.S. hourly workers and build more vehicles in the U.S. than any other automaker.”
WKTV noted that President of Ford North America, Kumar Galhotra, elaborated further during a Detroit press conference Friday. “Basically, this boils down to how we deploy our resources.”
“Any program that we’re working on requires resources — engineering resources, capital resources. Our resources could be better deployed at this stage.”
It is unknown at this time what Ford plans to do with their Ford Focus production. Perhaps as part of his “This is just the beginning” promise, Trump can figure out a way to help them with their ‘resource deployment’ problem.
If so, those jobs could come to the U.S.A. anyway, despite expected lower sales.
Between that and no tariffs, the bottom line may benefit for the company.
Regardless, China just lost out, again. And in that battle, it means Trump just won again.
And now China has one more reason, in a growing list of them, to play ball with Trump on tariffs. Whether the country will or not, however, is yet to be seen.
Currently, the agricultural industry and Joann Fabrics are among those keeping a close eye on the tariff war with China. Both have expressed concerns over lost jobs and revenue if the situation does not get resolved favorably.
For its part, China has worked on a PR campaign to potentially influence voters to side with Democrats who would be against tariffs. They even made an animated ad featuring a talking almond.
They’ve also hit Trump and his tariffs on their CGTN YouTube channel. Although it was not animated, another almond video also hits the tariffs and appeals to the plight of American farmers impacted by the battle.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
