A Trump campaign statement in Ohio has had a part taken out of context by some media outlets, but the story is bigger than hostile rhetoric - including hostility toward some foreign goods.
Breitbart quotes Trump at a rally for a MAGA Ohio U.S. Senate candidate vs. a plain Romney-style Republican:
If you’re listening, President Xi — and you and I are friends — but
he understands the way I deal. Those big monster car manufacturing
plants that you’re building in Mexico right now … you’re going to not
hire Americans and you’re going to sell the cars to us, no. We’re going
to put a 100% tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and
you’re not going to be able to sell those cars if I get elected.
Now if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the
whole — that’s gonna be the least of it […] It’s going to be a bloodbath
for the country. That will be the least of it. But they’re not going to
sell those cars. They’re building massive factories.
Fear-mongering trade-war rhetoric, together with a bullshit Breitbart photo:
A "bonespurs" salute
In context, it appears not a threat of a newer, bigger Jan. 6, rather trade-war redux.
Aspects of a bigger story, Chinese car plants in Mexico, what's happening?
During the first six months of 2022, Chinese carmakers like MG,
Chirey, and JAC Motors have increased their sales in Mexico by 200%
compared to 2021, according to the Mexican Association of Automotive
Dealers (AMDA). The spike is happening as non-Chinese carmakers
manufacturing in Mexico — like BMW, Volkswagen, and General Motors — are
struggling to get their hands on semiconductors to keep producing
vehicles, both for export and the local market. Talking to car
dealership managers, customers, and employees from the auto industry, Rest of World found
that Chinese carmakers are seizing the opportunity provided by the
semiconductor crisis to start selling to a consumer base that has long
been buying cars from elsewhere.
“Mexico is one of the largest car producers in the world,” André
Oliveira, business consulting partner for Sintec, a consulting firm
specializing in the automotive, IT, and manufacturing businesses, told Rest of World.
“However, it doesn’t have chip factories and depends on imports, mainly
from Asian countries.” AMDA added that installing a semiconductor
factory in Mexico takes at least three years.
The global semiconductor supply shortage stalled much of the production in the Mexican auto industry in 2020,
when it had a yearly 20% slump in production and exports. It’s now on
the path to recovering to 2019 levels, but the global chip shortage
hasn’t normalized yet. Vehicle production was down 13% in 2022’s first
quarter, compared to the same period in 2021, according to the National
Auto Parts Industry. Data from JD Power Mexico, a consumer research
firm, shows that in 2021, about half a million cars weren’t produced in
Mexico due to the shortage — 150,000 of which would have been sold
domestically.
“We foresee this situation will keep affecting our supply until mid-2023,” a representative for General Motors in Mexico told Rest of World.
[...]
Meanwhile, newly arrived Chinese brands like Chirey or Changan have
fully equipped cars available on demand. The fact that these cars are
not produced in Mexico is why they’re available for sale in the country:
“The Chinese supply chain favors companies whose production lines are
fully integrated into the Chinese economy,” [Mexican manufacturer] Galván told Rest of World. A Volkswagen employee who asked to remain anonymous because he’s not authorized to speak for the company also told Rest of World that
while European and American carmakers in Mexico are struggling getting
car parts from China, Chinese companies have cars and are getting them
into Mexico without a problem.
Oliveira broadly agreed, noting that it was access to semiconductors
specifically which gave Chinese automakers an edge. “JAC has been
assembling cars in Mexico since 2017, but its larger degree of
integration with JAC China could indicate the company’s broader access
to chips,” he said.
According to Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography,
INEGI, China’s MG sold almost 4,800 cars in October while companies
like Volkswagen — which has long built cars in the country — sold 1,738.
In October 2020, Volkswagen sold 3,707 units while MG sold 20.
The sudden availability of these brands in the market could be
changing Mexican consumers’ perceptions about Chinese cars. “Many mass
market Chinese products were previously known to be of low quality,”
Oliviera said. “Broader penetration and acceptance of Chinese cars may
help change the consumer’s perception.”
[...]
So, Chinese factories in Mexico are gaining market share --- IN MEXICO.
Former President Donald
Trump said he would hit cars made in Mexico by Chinese companies with a
100% tariff, double the levy he has previously said he would put on
automobiles made south of the U.S. border.
Trump
addressed Chinese President Xi Jinping directly during a rally speech
in Dayton, Ohio, on Saturday when threatening the tariffs.
“Those
big monster car manufacturing plants you are building in Mexico right
now and you think you are going to get that — not hire Americans and
you’re going to sell the car to us, no,” Trump said. “We are going to
put a 100% tariff on every car that comes across the lot.”
Trump continued by saying it would be a “bloodbath” if he didn’t win this year’s U.S. presidential election.
Earlier
this month Trump threatened a 50% tariff on Chinese cars. He has also
proposed tariffs of as much as 60% on all Chinese goods and 10% on goods
made anywhere in the world. He said he’s not worried about retaliatory
measures from China or other countries.
“You screw us and we’ll screw you,” he said. “It’s very simple, very fair.”
As
president, Trump focused heavily on the idea that the U.S. was being
ripped off by bad trade deals and cheating, embarking in 2018 on a trade
war with China that saw round after round of escalation as the two countries enacted tariffs on each other's products.
Trump's
most significant actions on trade included the trade war with China;
broad implementation of tariffs; replacement of the North American Free
Trade Agreement with the United States-Mexico-Canada-Agreement; and
exiting the multilateral Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement
negotiated under President Barack Obama.
International
trade and automotive industry experts at the time, however, said the
Trump administration's signature trade policies did little to bring back
U.S. manufacturing jobs and achieve his goal of balancing the trade
deficit. Indeed, the U.S. trade deficit was higher in 2020, at $678.7
billion than it was when Trump took office — $502.3 billion. It rose
further during the Biden presidency, ending 2023 at $773.4 billion.
The
trade deficit with China, however, dropped from $347 billion when Trump
took office to $308 billion in 2020. Though it rose again in the first
years of the Biden administration, it fell to $280 billion at the end of
2023.
In Michigan, manufacturing employment
stood at 617,100 when Trump took office in January 2017, according to
federal data. It peaked at 634,200 in December 2018, but by December
2020, manufacturing jobs declined to 580,000 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In January 2024, it had rebounded to 609,000.
Trump's
proposed 100% tariff levied on the price of a Chinese automakers'
vehicles assembled in Mexico escalates threats the former president made
on Feb. 27 during Michigan's presidential primary, which he handily won.
[...] In recent weeks, Biden
and one of his top surrogates, United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain,
have been clashing with Trump on manufacturing policy. Biden has
highlighted the UAW's gains following a six-week strike of General
Motors, Stellantis and Ford Motor Co. last fall, while Trump has turned
his attention to Chinese automakers investing in Mexican plants.
Trump,
despite facing four criminal cases, has only tightened his grip on the
GOP in his third White House run. The Republican National Committee is
now helmed by three close allies, including his daughter in-law Lara
Trump as co-chair. The shakeup saw more than 60 staffers fired on
Monday.
Trump’s rally on Saturday took him to a
once-traditional swing state where his populist message brought him
easy victories in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.
This
year, Ohio also hosts a Senate race that will be critical to Democratic
hopes of retaining control of the chamber. Republicans face a three-way
contest in the state’s March 19 primary for a candidate to take on
Democrat Sherrod Brown in the general election.
Trump
has endorsed tech executive Bernie Moreno for the Senate seat, putting
him at odds with Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who has backed Matt
Dolan, a moderate who didn’t seek Trump’s support. Ohio Secretary of
State Frank LaRose is also running.
Moreno, who
attended Saturday’s rally, called Trump a “great American.” Trump also
took a swipe at Dolan, calling him “the next Mitt Romney” and claiming
he is embracing “woke left lunatics.”
The Detroit News contributed.
So, Trump works his Ohio base. Aside from that, the major question apparently not being resolved by mainstream media, are Chinese vehicles manufactured in Mexico for the Mexican market alone, or will there be attempts to import them into the U.S. in significant numbers? (So far, have you seen any irregular brand names on cars in traffic where you drive?)
Does the United States-Mexico-Canada-Agreement which replaced NAFTA say anything to the issue?
A few returned items, (without Crabgrass following links), from: search = chinese auto factories in mexico
Feb 24, 2024Tesla-beating BYD and other Chinese carmakers using Mexico as back door poses 'extinction-level' threat to U.S. auto sector, warns trade group. BYD EVs waiting to be loaded onto a ship this ...
Dec 18, 2023Dec 18, 2023, 4:25 AM PST. Tesla rival BYD is among the Chinese firms reportedly exploring plans to build a new factory in Mexico. VCG via Getty Images. Three major Chinese EV companies are ...
Aug 5, 2023Chinese car component makers are rushing to build production plants in Mexico so they can supply parts to Tesla's new factory in the Central American nation. At least seven mainland-listed ...
Sep 20, 2023Chinese
brands broke into the Mexican market in 2017, according AFS. Vehicles
built in China, mostly sold under the Chevrolet, Dodge, and Ford brands,
have reached 18.5% market share there, "but ...
Jul 3, 2023The new factory in Mexico presents a choice to Chineseauto suppliers servicing Tesla's Shanghai plant — move to Mexico, too, or risk losing orders worth hundreds of million of dollars. ... As such, Mexico's imports of Chineseauto parts grew over 30% from 2020-2022, feeding into Chinese production in Mexico, while imports of motor ...
Apr 3, 2023Chinese automaker Jetou r announced it will build a $3 billion automotive plant in Mexico
by the end of 2024, with the aim of manufacturing electric and
gasoline-powered cars for the North American market. As part of its
investment in Mexico, Jetour is partnering with LDR Solutions Co., a conglomerate of Chinese automotive companies doing ...
Dec 18, 2023Mexico,
the world's seventh-largest carmaking nation, is one of the countries
best placed to benefit from an upheaval in global supply chains caused
by disruptions in the COVID-19 pandemic and ...
Feb 28, 2024Chinese automakers are surging into Mexico, building out large auto assembly plants to serve the Mexican market. And no, "surging" is not hyperbole. Chinese foreign direct investment in Mexico increased by 126% between 2018 and 2022,
As the U.S. moves to electric cars, (with fossil fuel geeks dug in and howling), an interesting thing is the Tesla charging plug adoption broadly happening in the U.S. while auto makers are abandoning (with adapter technology available during the cut-over, including imports from Europe) an otherwise international standard charger design.
One may wonder, is the Tesla charging love-fest solely an acknowledgement of Tesla charging station dominance in our nation, or might it in part be intended to indirectly raise an impediment to imports not so configured? That might be a dimension of the "Tesla charging plug embrace" which is under-reported by U.S. media.
Keeping petroleum reserves worldwide for petrochemical uses, conserving that way, makes sense as a global climate change measure, as well as a geopolitical shift from energy sourcing via Russia and the Middle East, for Europe and us.
In our hemisphere, Mexico and Venezuela have sufficient reserves to meet foreseeable ongoing petrochemical needs as our nation's automobiles become cleaner, ideally fewer, and electric.
It will happen. Timeframe is the only elastic part of the policy. [UPDATE: Also elastic, nation of origin - tariff policy - commute times - parking meter price surges.]
UPDATE - A month ago Fortune, per the first listed search return-item listed above, led with this Getty image captioned, "BYD EVs waiting to be loaded onto a ship this month in China."
