Former President and de facto 2024 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump touched on a sensitive, hot-button topic in a speech while out at a stop on the campaign trail.
During a rally at the Dayton International Airport in Ohio on Saturday, Mar. 16, the Republican issued a catastrophic threat in the form of steep 100% tariffs on vehicles made by Chinese automakers if they dare to build factories in Mexico, if he were elected back into the Oval Office.
“If you’re listening, President Xi [Jinping] — 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,” Trump said during the rally. “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.”
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Trump warned of an economic catastrophe if he were to lose the election. The former president sees himself as the sole savior of the automotive sector, predicting the U.S. domestic auto industry would be decimated if President Biden were to be reelected.
“Now if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole (auto industry) — that’s gonna be the least of it,” he added. “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.”
The remarks from the Republican presidential candidate follows a series of legislative and direct action from Republican lawmakers, as well as President Biden himself, on the topic of Chinese automotive imports — with each lawmaker imposing their own agenda of action against the foreign automakers.
The former president imposed a 25% tariff on Chinese auto imports during his tenure as president, which has largely prevented many automakers of Chinese origin from importing their vehicles into the United States.
Though, stateside, politicians see the threat of Chinese autos at large as an obstacle for domestic automakers, as well as a potential national security threat, other manufacturers are making it known that they also feel threatened.
In an announcement on March 15, Japanese automakers Nissan and Honda announced that they are in the early stages of forming a partnership to compete against lower-priced vehicles produced by heavyweights like BYD (BYDDY) and Nio. (NIO)
“Emerging players are very aggressive and are making inroads at incredible speed,” Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida said during the event in Tokyo on March 15. “We cannot win the competition as long as we stick to conventional wisdom and a traditional approach.”
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Additionally, some major figures in Trump's good graces shares similar views. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, for instance, noted that Chinese automakers "are the most competitive car companies in the world," warning during Tesla's Q4 earnings call on Jan. 24 that they may be a problem if appropriate protective measures aren't in place.
"I think they will have significant success outside of China depending on what kind of tariffs or trade barriers are established," Musk said. "Frankly, I think if there are not trade barriers established, they will pretty much demolish most other companies in the world."
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