German Automakers Push Back Trump’s Warning Over Mexican Plants

Is Trump's idea that companies that sell to the US should not be able to sell to anyone else in the world?

Reading this, it's hard to imagine the Mexico plant being for anything other than the foreign countries themselves, while the USA gets it's own entire plant.

What more could you ask for? They literally built a plant within our land, do they just do that for every country? No? Are they not allowed to own two plants?

This makes me angry. If the Germans retaliate and the SC plant closes and Trump loses American jobs, it will just be one more reason to be ashamed. But I doubt that will happen, still, we're just pissing in the wind here.

a reply to: Snarl


It's in the serial numbers. They start with different numbers for different countries. In the case of the hog, I'd guess due to lower emission standards.


In the case of the beemer, in a state like Cali., they'd have found out during the emission test.

a reply to: ROBOTNINJADRAGON

I don't get your point. Of course, if BMW builds in Mexico, they can sell them wherever they want.

If you do have plants in the U.S., whether a foreign owned company or not, and build in Mexico for and export them back to the U.S., you are cutting jobs in the U.S..

That, in itself, isn't THAT big a deal, but you need to understand is the U.S. has lost 60, 000 manufacturing companies over the last few years and one of Trump's mandates is to stop the bleeding. BMW can build in Mexico and export back to the U.S. all it wants.

The U.S. can and will impose duties as it chooses as well.

a reply to: nwtrucker
This is a long time coming. With the stagnation of wages since the mid 1970's, there needs to be an America first plan.

This is not going to be easy, we have been told for years and years that we Americans make way too much and nothing can be made here. But what we are not supposed to notice is that record profits from the corps from exploiting 3rd world labor and bring these products back to the poorer US to sell at the same price.

We were lied to. Everyone needs to consider the number of politicians that are involved in this.

If the government decides to enact the law against false advertising, BMW will be out of business overnight.
Ferrari, Lamborghini and Rolls Royce will see to it.

Why not force BMW out of the market if they don't play ball? Americans can buy American cars. German cars are dull as dish water anyway and already overpriced.

a reply to: seasonal


Agreed.

GM and Ford are international corporations, and heck, Chrysler is now owned by FIAT, an Italian corporation.

BMW, as far as I know, is the only German manufacturer to have an assembly plant in the US.

If "Der Dumper" imposes his tariff, BMW could shut down its US plant, and, working with the German government, retaliate by imposing a stiffer tax on all GM and Ford products.

A thing like that could spread to other countries.

The US currently does not have the manufacturing capacity to pick up the slack, it does not have the trained workforce to produce the product in the factories that don't exist and won't get built because the corporations that would build them will be hemorrhaging too much in capital losses to afford building them.

a reply to: nwtrucker

Always there are strings to anything any Nations does. There are always surprises. After the Diebold voting fraud of the Bushes controversy I thought Clinton was going to get in. Makes me think that the system is honest or that there are factions within the PTB fighting amongst themselves. Or 3rd idea...maybe there will be longlasting peace. A new age we are entering.

Geopolitics....does my head in. Maybe the AI has escaped its confines but unlike the Terminator theme, its mankinds friend?

a reply to: Bhadhidar

Have you been to Europe? Asia?

If so, how many American cars did you see?

I cannot remember seeing one (other than military member personal vehicles) and I've spent years overseas.


I did see a lot of late model American cars in the Middle East which was fun.

This is stupid. Trump is going out of his jurisdiction by complaining about a non US company to help US getting jobs back which never existed first place on US. It was fine when he complained about US companies. But, telling foreign companies to come in is just dumb as fk. BMW also has else where to sell any how. It going to be like the old days again where US didn't get German or British made cars during the Cold War.

a reply to: Bhadhidar


You articulate the problem well. The 'auto corporations' think themselves global...international and, therefore, above national interests. Yet, they forget their roots. The base that developed and allowed them to flourish.

They now realize there are consequences to the myopic view that increasing profit margin is everything.

As far as Germany and BMW goes, sorry, but if an example has to be made to the remaining auto manufacturers BMW will suffice. Americans have many options of automobile manufacturers to choose from other than BMW. BMW, on the other hand, has only one American market.

Rather simple, isn't it?

originally posted by: ROBOTNINJADRAGON
Is Trump's idea that companies that sell to the US should not be able to sell to anyone else in the world?

Reading this, it's hard to imagine the Mexico plant being for anything other than the foreign countries themselves, while the USA gets it's own entire plant.

What more could you ask for? They literally built a plant within our land, do they just do that for every country? No? Are they not allowed to own two plants?

This makes me angry. If the Germans retaliate and the SC plant closes and Trump loses American jobs, it will just be one more reason to be ashamed. But I doubt that will happen, still, we're just pissing in the wind here.

The word "monopoly" came to my mind. It sounds like he wants to punish any company that dares to have a plant outside the US, whether or not it's importing from it to the US.

That kind of mindset will be our Achille's Heel, and we'll go down HARD for it. See how long we last as 1st World when nobody wants to hammer out contracts stateside anymore.
IMO, requiring a product sold in the US to be made in the US is fine & dandy. Might drive prices way TF up, might also jack up incomes and level out that price inflation. But to threaten & drive off companies because of where their other plants are worldwide is a FOOL'S move, not a wise man's.

a reply to: Bhadhidar

List of automotive plants in USA

Volkswagen in Tennessee. Mercedes in Alabama and South Carolina

Why so much hate on European vehicles in here? I currently own a Mini Cooper and a Volvo. Great cars, the both of them. Can't beat the comfort of a Volvo. And in the past, I have owned a VW and an Audi, loved both of those cars as well. Parts can be expensive, but the styling and performance is far superior than American cars.

a reply to: makemap


Once BMW has a plant in the U.S., which they do, they will and should be treated exactly the same as U.S. owned plants. Loss of jobs is loss of jobs, bottom line.


We should hold tougher standards on U.S. manufacturers than foreign ones? I think not. That mentality has contributed to the overall situation in the U.S. in the first place.

By the way, If you think, Porsche, Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen, et al, will permit
BMW to drag all of Germany's auto manufacturers into a 'cold war'? I think not. Their shareholders would scream nein on the top of their lungs.


The U.K.? Wrong again. They need a bi-lateral trade agreement in the worst way, otherwise the Exbrit is doomed.

originally posted by: nwtrucker
a reply to: makemap
We should hold tougher standards on U.S. manufacturers than foreign ones? I think not. That mentality has contributed to the overall situation in the U.S. in the first place.

So long as a company is founded within the confines of US borders, yes, we should. Manufacturing in our territories should also be held to a substantially higher standard.

We have zero say in what a foreign company does in another foreign country. An American company going abroad to make more bank at the expense of jobs here that is not in the red to begin with? Not acceptable. ALLOWING them to do that is what has resulted in the current state of the country economically. We let offshoring = reduced costs = more moolah become a mantra for companies here. Don't try to blame foreign companies coming over for our greedy eff-up.

a reply to: Nyiah


Totally agree re the eff-up being self-induced....

The rest nope, I can't agree. If we threaten/enact tariffs on 'our' so-called companies and allow foreign imports-especially when they already have plants in the U.S., especially then, I stress, we kill our own companies by reverse subsidy of the foreign ones. we're back into the same old mechanism, IMO.

Heck , enough posters claim these are all global companies anyway. Plant in the U.S.? Same rules for all. Period.

a reply to: nwtrucker

Higher standards for us doesn't mean no standards for them, either That's really a muddled area at best, IMO. At what point is a newly built foreign company's plant no longer considered foreign? What criteria is the point of no return? If they're projected to continue operating at a loss and see no viable way of making it work in the US, are they not free to close up shop & leave?

We cannot treat it like an all or nothing plant building gamble, because that's bound to scare more foreigners off than invite. We need to avoid sending them running, there's a fine degree of leniency there that builds predictability and stability with that influx of foreign money that we need to suss out.

originally posted by: Nyiah
a reply to: nwtrucker

Higher standards for us doesn't mean no standards for them, either

That's really a muddled area at best, IMO. At what point is a newly built foreign company's plant no longer considered foreign? What criteria is the point of no return? If they're projected to continue operating at a loss and see no viable way of making it work in the US, are they not free to close up shop & leave?

We cannot treat it like an all or nothing plant building gamble, because that's bound to scare more foreigners off than invite. We need to avoid sending them running, there's a fine degree of leniency there that builds predictability and stability with that influx of foreign money that we need to suss out.

No argument from me. The implied actions of Trump, is promises of improved corporate tax rates and a reduction of regulatory barriers. The 'silver or lead' option.

If a foreign company, legitimately or not, decides a plant isn't viable in the U.S. anymore, despite an improved economic outlook, then so be it. After all many, many automobile companies have gone belly-up over the decades, so nothing new there, anyways.

Protecting those that choose to stay becomes mandatory for this to work, from what I can see.

Same playing field will leave it in the hands of the best run companies. As it should be.

Yay! More isolationism! Just what the Russians want!

in the U.S. It would also make sense simultaneously to support isolationist tendencies in American politics."

Foundations of Geopolitics, a Russian military textbook used in the General Staff Academy of Russian military.

Wow, Trump and the Russians aren't even trying to hide their ulterior motives anymore!