President Donald Trump met with manufacturing executives Tuesday morning from top automotive companies, looking to secure manufacturing plants in the U.S. that produce cars to be sold there.
Busy week planned with a heavy focus on jobs and national security. Top executives coming in at 9:00 A.M. to talk manufacturing in America.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)
Will be meeting at 9:00 with top automobile executives concerning jobs in America. I want new plants to be built here for cars sold here!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)
Executives from Ford Motor Co. (ticker: F), Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCAU) and General Motors Co. (GM) were to attend the meeting, reports Bloomberg.
Ford CEO Mark Fields is looking to talk with Trump about corporate tax reform, trade policy plans involving foreign currency manipulation and “data-driven regulations,” Ford spokeswoman Christin Baker told Bloomberg. Fields also went to Trump’s meeting Monday with U.S. manufacturers like Tesla Motors (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk.
“We think we can cut regulations by 75 percent. Maybe more,” Trump told reporters Monday. “When you want to expand your plant, or when Mark wants to come in and build a big massive plant, or when Dell wants to come in and do something monstrous and special — you’re going to have your approvals really fast.”
Trump has had an adversarial relationship to the auto industry. He took credit on Twitter earlier this year for talking Ford out of not sending a Lincoln plant from Mexico to Kentucky — though such a plant doesn’t exist. Ford has a plant in Kentucky that makes the Lincoln MKC SUV and Ford Escape and reportedly was looking to move production for the Lincoln model, though the company scrapped the plan.
Ford also halted a plan for a $1.6 billion car assembly factory in Mexico, shifting gears toward the expansion of a Michigan factory to the tune of $700 million. Ford stock is up nearly 3 percent on the year.
The president called out General Motors on Twitter earlier this year for making its Chevrolet Cruze in Mexico and shipping it tax-free to the U.S. for sale, though the company pushed back.
“General Motors manufacturers the Chevrolet Cruze sedan in Lordstown, Ohio,” a General Motors spokesman said in a statement at the time. “All Chevrolet Cruze sedans sold in the U.S. are built in GM’s assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio.”
GM clarified it builds the Cruze hatchback in Mexico for global markets, and only a “small number” are sold in the U.S. Reuters reports that number amounts to 4,500.
GM stock is up more than 6.5 percent this year.
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Which Auto Executives Are Meeting With President Donald Trump? originally appeared on usnews.com
