SMM, Sept. 28: Ford Motor Company (Ford Motor Co.) as the Trump administration negotiates new trade agreements with Canada, China and other countries Executive Chairman Bill Ford (Bill Ford) said on Thursday that the company hoped the Trump administration would reach a new trade agreement with other countries at an early date so that it could "confidently" plan and invest.
On the 100th anniversary of the (Dearborn) plant in Dearborn, Michigan, Bill Ford (Bill Ford) said his executives had been in close contact with President Trump's trade negotiating team. Dearborn is the second largest automaker in the United States.
"We just want to cooperate with the government on trade and tariffs," he stressed. When trade agreements are deterministic and without volatility, our business will be better.
Ford Chief Executive Officer Hackett said on Wednesday that tariffs on steel and aluminum in the United States would cost Ford $1 billion in profits in 2018 and 2019. The US auto industry has petitioned the government not to impose more tariffs on Chinese products, saying it would hurt car sales and lead to fewer jobs.
Trump announced in March that he would impose a 25 per cent tariff on imported steel and a 10 per cent tariff on aluminium imports from most countries. These tariffs enabled American producers to raise prices. During the presidential campaign, Trump denounced the serious damage done to American manufacturers and workers by the US trade deficit. Since taking office, he has pursued a policy of raising tariffs, which he says will reverse the trend, including an increasingly fierce trade war against China. The industry is preparing for a possible new round of tariffs.
Earlier, on May 23, Trump ordered a "Article 232" national security investigation to decide whether to impose a 25 percent tariff on cars and auto parts imported from the European Union and other trading partner countries. In July, Ford cut its full-year profit forecast because of the escalating trade war between China and the United States and the difficulties of its business in Europe.
Bill Ford (Bill Ford) declined to specify what the company wanted in any trade agreement, saying only that the current negotiations were "very unstable".
But he also said the $1 billion profit cost did not change the way Ford was restructured, and Hackett did a good job in leading Ford.
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