Executives at Ford Motor Company are praising President Donald Trump’s expanded auto tariffs, saying such duties will ensure that manufacturing in the United States is no longer a disadvantage for American companies.
Last month, Trump announced a 25% tariff on imports of medium and heavy-duty trucks and truck parts, such as large pick-up trucks, moving trucks, cargo trucks, dump trucks, and tractors for eighteen-wheelers.
In a recent earnings call, Ford CEO Jim Farley thanked Trump for the newly announced tariffs on foreign cars and car parts.
“I’d like to thank President Trump and his team for the recent tariff policy developments, which are favorable to Ford as the most American auto manufacturer,” Farley said:
In addition, tariffs leveling the playing field for those imported medium and heavy-duty trucks is a positive for Ford because we are no longer disadvantaged for building every single one of our super duty trucks here in the United States. [Emphasis added]
Likewise, Ford placed an ad campaign in several newspapers backing Trump’s tariffs and vowing to continue building their cars in the United States.
“At our assembly plants in Michigan, Missouri, Kentucky, and Ohio, tens of thousands of [United Auto Worker] members put their expertise and pride into assembling Ford F-series trucks,” the ad reads. “In an era of complex supply chains, our commitment to the American workforce is unwavering. We believe the backbone of our economy is supported by American workers.”
CNN, last week, admitted that Trump’s tariffs on the auto industry had not decimated such automakers as economists and auto executives claimed without evidence would happen.
“Automakers were close to panic when Trump announced plans for a 25% tariff on all imported vehicles, including those from Mexico and Canada, since all companies depend on imported parts to build at US assembly plants and almost all import from those neighboring countries,” the CNN report admits:
But it turned out it wasn’t as bad as they feared, as Trump continued to reduce the worst of the duties’ impact almost immediately. General Motors and Ford, which had forecast billions in annual costs, have each reduced those assessments. GM trimmed its $5 billion estimate by $500 million last month. Ford cut its estimated tariff cost for 2025 in half, from $2 billion to $1 billion. [Emphasis added]
Another claim repeated almost daily by talking heads but not founded in consumer price data is that consumers would pay higher prices because of the tariffs. But CNN admitted that auto “companies have not passed on the increased tariff costs to consumers, at least not directly.”
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter here.
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