Posted on 11/18/2016 1:40:19 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
Bill Ford’s phone call is the latest move by a business leader to thaw tension after Trump’s comments on trade
One of the U.S. auto industry’s best-known figures has extended an olive branch to President-elect Donald Trump by informing him the car maker won’t move a small amount of production to Mexico, the latest effort by a business leader to thaw tension stemming from the incoming administration’s position on key issues, including global trade.
Bill Ford, the great-grandson of Henry Ford and chairman of Ford Motor Co., called Mr. Trump on Thursday to tell him the company was reversing course on a plan to eventually relocate Lincoln sport-utility production from Kentucky to a factory south of the U.S. border. The auto maker is sticking with its $1.6 billion construction of a new small-car plant in Mexico, but is signaling confidence in its ability to work with Mr. Trump on making U.S. manufacturing more attractive to multinational companies.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
Of course it is. They don’t want him putting a 35% tax on All of thier small cars coming in from Mexico. He has them right where he wants them.
“$1.6 billion construction” is a “small amount of production”?
Ford thanks you, WSJ.
Small cars are still moving to Mexico, so this seems like so much hot air to me.
Most of the establishment players are not leaders, they’re followers.
When a strong leader like Trump takes power, most of them simply fall in line.
It’s no problem, Ford will be paying big to build them in Mexico.
well, let’s see. Trump isn’t Beohner, he might actually do what he’s been saying for the last 25 years. He hasn’t even been in office yet and he’s already getting “olive branches”. I’ll reserve judgement
I see on Twitter that self-appointed “fact checkers” claim that Trump never got Ford to stop moving a plant to Mexico!!!
This was part of their efforts to make the Trump University settlement a bigger thing than it is! PHOOEY to the phony “fact checkers”!!!!
I never get tired of winning, either!!!!
They may be. That seems to be the plan.
Jawboning works, and that’s what Trump did, without even that actual power of the office. He created a constraint to offshoring and Ford responded.
You wanna know what’s next? Bill Ford is going to ask for something. He read “Art of the Deal”.
I agree.
That’s my take too.
My comment was more about Ford than Trump.
What’s the big deal if they leave Lincoln here, if they’re still sending small cars to Mexico?
Weren’t they moving a small car plant to Mexico as well?
Keep that open. Bring jobs back.
Make American production a requirement to get the repatriation of capital tax break.
The Ford move to Mexico for the small cars that don’t really sell here is because there is a large well established auto manufacturing capability in Mexico. The country is home to all the biggies that are manufacturing not for Mexican or American consumption. The cars are made for export to places that buy small very cheap cars. That would especially be Africa and further south in central and south America.
The move allows Ford stock holders to profit from an otherwise nonexistent market.
Bert, these are also cars that come back into the U.S.
That’s what the stink was all about.
Those that do are going to have a big fee slapped on them.
That’s fantastic IMO.
The handwriting is on the wall, and The Donald has not even assumed office yet.
There is a LOT of realignment going on in thinking right now.
Actually, the whole plant was not going to be relocated, as the Louisville Plant is still going to be in Kentucky (but NOT in Detroit). But the shift of production to Mexico is off the board right now.
Mexico does have organized auto workers unions, but they are MUCH weaker, comparatively, than the US auto workers unions. Their wage, benefit and retirement demands are all MUCH less than those that had successfully been negotiated by their US counterparts in the past, which have had a large, disproportionate even, effect on the bankruptcy and bailout of both GM and Chrysler. Ford did not participate in the bailout, but they were in a stronger position than GM or Chrysler, and did not even approach the dire straits of either of their competitors.
It makes me wonder if they were escaping an anticipated more hostile business climate that now won’t happen.
Well, it is a win win
Ford won’t bring back cars the small cars in question that Americans don’t like and in practice, there will be no cars sold with a 35% tariff.
There is a big caveat involved. Congress must legislate the tariff and will not
Its a start, but just 20,000 MKC’s sold Oct 2016 YTD. An Olive branch. Now let’s talk Focus, Fusion, etc and not move those vehicles
Free Traitor™ scum ought to buzz off and GTHO here. If they voted for Trump(which I doubt) then they are a bunch of hypocrites.
Newbie Economic troglodytes are ignorant and have no clue about the real world
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