GM says U.S. import tariffs could mean 'smaller' company, fewer jobs

[Timshel]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...-idUSKBN1JP2PZ

The largest U.S. automaker said in comments filed with the U.S. Commerce Department that overly broad tariffs could “lead to a smaller GM, a reduced presence at home and abroad for this iconic American company, and risk less — not more — U.S. jobs.”


Higher tariffs could also hike vehicle prices and reduce sales, GM said.


Its comments echoed those from two major U.S. auto trade groups on Wednesday, when they warned that tariffs of up to 25 percent on imported vehicles would cost hundreds of thousands of auto jobs, dramatically raise prices on vehicles and threaten industry spending on self-driving cars.


Even if automakers opted not to pass on higher costs “this could still lead to less investment, fewer jobs, and lower wages for our employees. The carry-on effect of less investment and a smaller workforce could delay breakthrough technologies,” GM said.

[Timshel]

Trump Auto Tariff Would Be A $45B Tax On Americans, Says U.S. Auto Trade Group
https://www.forbes.com/sites/greggar.../#53ca8bc4fd15

A major lobbying group for the U.S. auto industry warned that the Trump administration’s threatened 25% tariff on all imported vehicles would amount to a $45 billion tax on consumers and wipe out any benefits from a tax cut for low and middle income Americans.


“Tariffs on autos and auto parts raise vehicle prices for all customers, limit consumer choice and invite retaliatory action by our trading partners,” the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers said in a statement released Wednesday morning. “Automakers support reducing trade barriers across the board and achieving fairness through facilitating rather than inhibiting trade.”


AAM’s statement comes two days after Harley-Davidson said it would shift some motorcycle production from the U.S., citing tariffs on its motorcycle that had jumped to 31% from 6%, a cost that translates, on average, to a $2,200 price increase on each motorcycle exported to Europe.

BMW has invested about $8 billion in and around its Greer, S.C., assembly plant, where it plans to hire an additional 1,000 workers, bringing its workforce in the state to 10,000 by 2021.


Not only could an escalating trade war threaten that investment, but it could erase jobs as sales of the crossover models made there fall.


Buyers of imported vehicles would face an average price increase of $5,800 from a 25% import tariff, according to an analysis of U.S. Department of Commerce data. That doesn’t include costs from tariffs on auto components. Nor does it include the 25% tariff on imported steel and the 10% tariff on imported aluminum that Trump has already imposed.


The Peterson Institute for International Economics estimates that Trump’s 25% tariff on imported vehicle could reduce U.S. auto production by 1.5% and eliminate 195,000 U.S. jobs between now and the end of 2021. If other countries retaliate, which they are already doing, the job lose could more than triple to 624,000, according to Peterson’s analysis.

[Timshel]

Utah Metalworking Company Cancels Expansion Plans Because Tariffs

The unseen costs of the Trump administration's bellicose trade policy matter too.

https://reason.com/blog/2018/06/29/u...cancels-expans

Business had been good at Jack's Ornamental Iron. So good, in fact, that co-owners Greg Schow and Tina Pardue were planning to expand into a larger workspace and hire 25 percent more employees.


But those plans have been canceled, they told a local Salt Lake City television station this week, because President Donald Trump's tariffs have imposed huge new costs on the metalworking company's supplies of steel and aluminum. Schow says the business purchases roughly $1 million worth of steel every year, so the 25 percent import tax on imported steel means Jack's Ornamental Iron will face about $200,000 in new overhead costs.


Jack's Ornamental Iron does a wide range of metalworking, buying raw steel and turning it into everything from boat propellers to railings and metal staircases for apartment buildings. The sudden increase in the price of steel has created big problems for Jack's because the company has several contracts that were signed before the tariffs were announced.


"So once they give us that contract at the very beginning, we're locked in and we can't change your pricing," Pardue told KUTV. "On our current jobs we have right now, we're just having to eat it."


That's why the expansion and new hiring are on hold.


Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) highlighted the Salt Lake City company's plight at Wednesday's hearing of the Senate Finance Committee, where a number of senators sharply criticized Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross for the administration's tariff policies.


"These companies are small, Mr. Secretary, but they are important," Hatch said, referring to Jack's Ornamental Iron and another Utah-based metalworking firm. "They are important sources of jobs in our communities, and they are particularly vulnerable to the consequences of tariffs."

[PostmodernProphet]

and it could mean more jobs, better economy........lets wait and see.......

[Timshel]

and it could mean more jobs, better economy........lets wait and see.......

No, it can not. Protectionism does not work. There is no reason to wait and see, we already know that the results will be higher taxes on Americans and job losses.

[katzgar]

and it could mean more jobs, better economy........lets wait and see.......

If you were educated you wouldn't say something so stupid

[cancel2 2022]

and it could mean more jobs, better economy........lets wait and see.......

This sounds exactly the same as the Remoaners after Brexit. We call it Project Fear, Stringy would make an excellent Remoaner.

[PostmodernProphet]

If you were educated you wouldn't say something so stupid

my juris doctorate and masters degrees against your high school diploma says you don't actually know what "stupid" is......

[Nordberg]

and it could mean more jobs, better economy........lets wait and see.......

Belief over fact and expertise. There you go again.

[Nordberg]

Trumps economic advisers are against his tariffs. But trump thinks he knows better than anyone. Like he said in the campaign, he knows more about ISIS than the generals. Trump is an egomaniac. He is not psychologically balanced. Like he said, want the economy to get fucked up "only I can do it" trump should scare you.

[PostmodernProphet]

Belief over fact and expertise. There you go again.

I'm sorry little one.......Trump's expertise trump's your expertise......I'm sure you've never exported anything and ordering something online from China does not count as experience in imports......

[katzgar]

I'm sorry little one.......Trump's expertise trump's your expertise......I'm sure you've never exported anything and ordering something online from China does not count as experience in imports......

Trumps expertise at using foreign labor and foreign production for his products is pretty obvious

[Rune]

Metal businesses are actually getting double fucked by this...not only did our raw material cost increase by 25% in one day but incidental costs as well. Welding rods/ wire are mostly steel and prices are skyrocketing.

We were already low margin, now we are looking at no margin.

[Rune]

I'm sorry little one.......Trump's expertise trump's your expertise......I'm sure you've never exported anything and ordering something online from China does not count as experience in imports......

Shitstain; these tarrifs are already killing jobs and businesses.
Stop being a lying cunt.

[countryboy]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...-idUSKBN1JP2PZ

The largest U.S. automaker said in comments filed with the U.S. Commerce Department that overly broad tariffs could “lead to a smaller GM, a reduced presence at home and abroad for this iconic American company, and risk less — not more — U.S. jobs.”


Higher tariffs could also hike vehicle prices and reduce sales, GM said.


Its comments echoed those from two major U.S. auto trade groups on Wednesday, when they warned that tariffs of up to 25 percent on imported vehicles would cost hundreds of thousands of auto jobs, dramatically raise prices on vehicles and threaten industry spending on self-driving cars.


Even if automakers opted not to pass on higher costs “this could still lead to less investment, fewer jobs, and lower wages for our employees. The carry-on effect of less investment and a smaller workforce could delay breakthrough technologies,” GM said.

Liberal hypocrites show their ass yet again. When the Big 'O was prezzy prezz you people said if businesses couldn't operate within the current tax structure, they should fail. Now, it's different.