Trump made false claims about Chinese auto factories in Mexico, threatening to impose heavy tariffs on vehicles. He warned that a Harris win would devastate the economy
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Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday repeated false claims that Chinese automakers are building huge factories in Mexico. During a stop in the automobile state of Michigan, he vowed to impose a 200 percent tariff on all vehicles built in these unbuilt plants and shipped to the United States.
Trump also claimed during an event in Flint that if Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris is elected in November, there will be no auto industry in the US because electric vehicle manufacturing will move to China.
The statement comes at a time when employment in the automobile sector has grown since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, after declining during Trump's first term.
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“If I don't win, within two to three years you're going to have no auto industry,” Trump said, calling any growth under Biden and Harris temporary. “You're going to have no manufacturing plants. China is going to take them all over because of the electric car.”
He told the crowd that he would force foreign automakers to build factories in the U.S. by imposing tariffs on imported vehicles, saying it would be “like taking candy away from a baby.”
Foreign automakers already have several factories in the US, mostly in the southern states.
Auto jobs fell 0.8 percent during Trump’s tenure to a little over 949,000 in January 2021, when he left office, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Since Biden took office that month, auto and parts jobs rose 13.6 percent in August to 1.07 million, so there’s no evidence the industry is disappearing. Auto sales rose 2.4 percent in the first half of this year.
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Trump said his tariffs would prevent Chinese vehicles made in Mexico from being sold in the United States, forcing automakers in China and elsewhere to set up factories in the United States.
“They're being owned and built by China in Mexico, and there are several being built there right now,” Trump said of the Chinese factories.
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Although some Chinese automakers aspire to sell in the U.S., industry analysts say no major Chinese-owned auto factories are under construction in Mexico, and only one small Chinese auto assembly factory is in operation there, run by a company called JAC that builds inexpensive vehicles from kits for sale in that country.
Trump also promised to impose tariffs on vehicles made in the U.S. if other countries impose taxes on vehicles made in the U.S. But tariffs often end up being levied on consumers in the country that assesses them.
The Harris campaign released a statement from Michigan Senator Gary Peters saying a second Trump term would kill auto jobs, “handing Michigan's global auto manufacturing leadership over to the Chinese government.” He said Harris has a plan to bring good-paying manufacturing jobs home “and ensure Michigan workers continue to lead the world in auto manufacturing.”
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First Publication Date: Sep 18, 2024, 08:57 AM IST