German Automakers Push Back Trump’s Warning Over Mexican Plants

Good move for Trump, sell it here, make it here.

Trump said that a plant in S Carolina makes BMW's and there is a planned plant in Mexico to make cars to be exported around the globe. Trump gave a reminder that BMW would face a 35% import duty if they bring them to the US.

German carmakers pushed back Donald Trump’s threats of import duties on the autos they make in Mexico, pointing to extensive production expansion in the U.S. in recent years.

BMW AG, which the president-elect singled out in an interview with German newspaper Bild on Sunday, sought to defuse potential tensions by stating that its largest factory is in South Carolina and that cars made at a planned, smaller factory in Mexico will be exported globally. Trump said BMW will face a 35 percent import duty on vehicles it exports to the U.S. from Mexico.

www.bloomberg.com... ahoo

BMW takes Trump's comments seriously, said Matthias Wissman president of German auto industry ass. He also said that congress will show "substantial resistance" (campaign contributions-lobbying).
This is Trump's first comments to the European car maker, but similar to Ford, Toyota. And there has been some changes in plans for Ford, cancelled a 1.6 billion Mexican plant. And toyota plans to make their corolla in Mexico in 2019, and said it will take Trump's decisions into account.

“We take the comments seriously, but it remains to be seen if and how the announcements will be implemented by the U.S. administration,” Matthias Wissmann, president of German auto industry association VDA, said in an e-mailed statement. The U.S. Congress will probably show “substantial resistance” against the duty proposals, he said.
Trump’s comments were the first aimed at a European carmaker after he issued similar warnings to Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. So far, the threats have prompted conciliatory gestures by the targeted companies. Ford has canceled plans for a $1.6 billion factory in the country to instead expand an existing site in Michigan. Toyota, which is set to start producing Corolla cars at a new plant in Mexico starting in 2019, has said it’ll take Trump’s decisions into account in the future.

But if they already have a manufacturing plant in the states, why would they need to import into the states, from a different plant outside the states?
Couldn't they just make vehicles for the US, in the US?

originally posted by: seasonal
German auto industry ass.
We take the comments seriously

Really?

The U.S. Congress will probably show “substantial resistance”

Sad. Sounds like they're gonna risk it.

a reply to: Snarl


Grandstanding, is my bet. No one nation can win against the U.S. in direct trade issues-when our leaders haven't been bought and paid for- certainly not one corporation that is hugely reliant on the U.S. market.

This thought just occurred....BMW 'could' threaten to close their U.S. plants in retaliation. That would make for an interesting scenario.

Another thought, if even germane, Merkel must have support of the big corporate types in Germany to have survived which would include BMW's people, one would think. She/they probably have even bigger issues with Trump than just this...

Could get very interesting.

originally posted by: snowspirit
But if they already have a manufacturing plant in the states, why would they need to import into the states, from a different plant outside the states?
Couldn't they just make vehicles for the US, in the US?

They do. The german built bmw's are completely different from what you purchase here in the states.

a reply to: snowspirit

If there is more profits to be had, they will close US plants and import. Maybe this is a warning?

a reply to: Snarl

I don't know if Congress will put up a fight, it's called Twitter. Can't filter it through the media.

This is not good.

There may be a massive push back from the fake-rich apartment dwellers, or the really feminine frosted hair guys.

What if they all stop their payments at the same time?

Chaos. I tell you. Chaos

a reply to: Mandroid7

Don't forget about the skinny jean wearers and the thick rimmed glasses holding a Starbucks cup. They are going to be so mad they could pinch someone.

This is going to be interesting to say the least.
POTUS can impose up to a 15% import tariff retroactively without congressional approval.
I believe for a period of 90 days per presidential directive.

Since BHO has set a precedent by ruling by presidential directive, DJT will take this to a new level.

The Dovahkiin will arrive on Friday.




Buck

a reply to: nwtrucker

All Germany has to do is stop bailing out the EU...then it will be in the USA geopolitical interest to step in and assist Europe. But then the US is technically bankrupt so again the Rothschilds win; we all lose

a reply to: seasonal

Something tells me those hipster types are not the ones driving BMWs.

originally posted by: nwtrucker
a reply to: Snarl
This thought just occurred....BMW 'could' threaten to close their U.S. plants in retaliation. That would make for an interesting scenario.

I don't know ... Did you you see the post from Natas0114 right below yours?

My wife 'had to have' one of these a few years back. I had to order the frikkin' thing from Bavaria and pay the damned import fees (just last year 'they' finally caught me with it).

Anyway, the quality of the Bavarian product (less paint) will blow the doors off anything they make here. That said, I'll probably buy a Ford or a Chevy if I ever buy another vehicle again.

originally posted by: seasonal
a reply to: Mandroid7

Don't forget about the skinny jean wearers and the thick rimmed glasses holding a Starbucks cup. They are going to be so mad they could pinch someone.

LOL

That's funnier than the neck-bearded, flannel BMW guy that just can't reclaim his masculinity with the addition of a bike rack.

originally posted by: TheConstruKctionofLight
a reply to: nwtrucker

All Germany has to do is stop bailing out the EU...then it will be in the USA geopolitical interest to step in and assist Europe. But then the US is technically bankrupt so again the Rothschilds win; we all lose

I'd amend this slightly with it WAS in the geopolitical interests to step in and assist. I'm not so sure that will apply under The Don. At the least, there will be strings attached that benefit the U.S.. That one, I believe you can 'bank' on.....

a reply to: Snarl


How did you get insurance for it? That's the big barrier. It falls into the 'grey
market' where there is no predictable parts prices for the insurance companies. Most won't insure them for that reason.

a reply to: seasonal

Kind of shows exactly what one of the major problems are. Foreign companies (and domestic) bribing politicians to make the outsourcing of jobs and the importation of goods favor their bottom lines.

Yes, it is bribes and the selling out of the United States.

But hey, the Germans seem to have a habit of doubling down on stupid lately.

So stehe in manchen US-Straßen vor jedem Haus ein Mercedes Benz. Das beruhe aber nicht auf Gegenseitigkeit. "Wie viele Chevrolets sehen Sie in Deutschland? Nicht allzu viele, vielleicht gar keine, man sieht dort drüben gar nichts, es ist eine Einbahnstraße."

"Wenn man durch die 5th Avenue geht, hat jeder einen Mercedes-Benz vor seinem Haus stehen, stimmt's? Tatsache ist, dass ihr den USA gegenüber sehr unfair wart."

So, if there parks a Mercedes in front of every house on some US streets, but no Chevy(but Fords a lot) in front of houses on german streets, might it be that it has something to do with fuel consumption and overall quality? And didn´t Trump "forget" to say that General Motors stopped selling it´s brand Chevrolet in Europe in 2015, to help it´s german daughter Opel?

Old people tend to foget things, first of all things that don´t fit with their own reality...

originally posted by: nwtrucker
a reply to: Snarl


How did you get insurance for it? That's the big barrier. It falls into the 'grey
market' where there is no predictable parts prices for the insurance companies. Most won't insure them for that reason.

I bought it overseas and insured it through USAA. Maintained coverage with them. I was 'discovered' when I went to register it with the state. Same thing with the Harley. Can you believe that??

originally posted by: nwtrucker
a reply to: Snarl


Grandstanding, is my bet. No one nation can win against the U.S. in direct trade issues-when our leaders haven't been bought and paid for- certainly not one corporation that is hugely reliant on the U.S. market.

This thought just occurred....BMW 'could' threaten to close their U.S. plants in retaliation. That would make for an interesting scenario.

Another thought, if even germane, Merkel must have support of the big corporate types in Germany to have survived which would include BMW's people, one would think. She/they probably have even bigger issues with Trump than just this...

Could get very interesting.

They could threaten to close the factory in the U.S. but they would be risking a boycott. In fact a boycott is a party sure bet in that scenario. Americans are the very last people they would want to boycott them.