Posted on 04/07/2025 4:01:40 AM PDT by karpov
DETROIT—If President Trump’s trade war has a physical battleground, it is Michigan, where companies and workers are already feeling the beginning of an onslaught that could blow a hole in the state’s economy.
Nearly 20% of the economy is tied to the auto industry, which has become increasingly dependent on parts and vehicles from Canada, Mexico and China—imports Trump hit with steep tariffs in recent weeks. This trade has grown so large that Michigan ranks fifth in the nation by the size of its imports and exports, even though its total economy ranks 14th.
Detroit’s automotive executives have shifted into battle mode. They are stockpiling imported components, wrestling with suppliers over price increases and setting up war rooms to figure out how to cut costs.
Workers at the state’s biggest auto factories are tightening their belts, too, in case tariffs spark layoffs by causing a spike in vehicle prices and a drop in demand. Some early moves have added to their jitters. Hours after the latest tariffs took effect last week, Jeep parent Stellantis temporarily laid off about 900 workers in Michigan and Indiana who supply parts to factories in Canada and Mexico that the company idled at the same time.
One auto executive early last week darkly predicted “Chernobyl” if tariffs broadly hit imported parts, which they’re scheduled to do next month. Industry executives and analysts later said what the administration outlined Wednesday was worse than they expected.
Some prominent voices, including the Detroit-based United Auto Workers union, say the upset will be worth it in the long run if tariffs do what Trump has pledged: expand U.S. manufacturing and unwind the offshoring of jobs that decimated many communities in Michigan and beyond.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
Unions have done more damage to the auto industry than Trump could ever dream of.
Go on strike then, assholes.
Serves em right. Go ahead and whine. Maybe your overpriced junk will become more overpriced and more crappy.
Meanwhile, Nissan Versas are $20k.
“…which has become increasingly dependent on parts and vehicles from Canada, Mexico and China…”
Hmmm let’s try to find the problem here…
The entire leadership of the UAW needs to be Hoffa’d.
True.
And
Stellantis is overpriced Italy crap
Stellantis wants too much money for their product. Unit sales fall, plants close
USMCA is supposed to force manufacturing into Mexico, USA, and Canada
Instead, Mexico and canada cheat>They bring in crap from China, perform some light assembly, then flood the USA Market
Gotta shuffle the deck and deal new hands
Stellantis tried to charge Range Rover Prices for Jeeps
Yep, the Wall Street Journal is the first place to go to for accurate facts about anything Trump.
Dump Gov wHitler
When is the last time engineering and design from Detroit broke new ground and led the world?
When it came to outsourcing jobs to other countries the auto industry and Dems couldn’t cate less about American job losses but now we are supposed to believe it’s a major concern?
Thank the shiny faced Witch.
They really want to talk the economy down.
As Austin Powers said, she’s a man, baby.
“Nearly 20% of the economy is tied to the auto industry, which has become increasingly dependent on parts and vehicles from Canada, Mexico and China...”
I think I see the problem here...
UAW?
Which is the problem.
Michigan doesn’t have an economy...
https://www.michigan.gov/budget/budget-documents/current-fiscal-year-budget
It’s just tariffs, that will cause some price increases, but probably not bad in the long term. It’s not the apocalypse.
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