By JOSH FRIEDMAN
Following intense criticism by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, Ford Motor Company opted to scrap its plans to build a $1.6 billion manufacturing plant in Mexico. Ford says it will instead invest $700 million in Michigan and create 700 U.S. jobs, CNN Money reports.
Trump has promised tax cuts and regulatory reductions, while threatening to impose tariffs on American motor companies that manufacture cars in Mexico and then sell them in the U.S. It is cheaper for companies like Ford and General Motors to build cars in Mexico, but they want the U.S. government to tax and regulate them less.
General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to U.S. car dealers-tax free across border. Make in U.S.A.or pay big border tax!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017
In explaining the company’s decision to keep manufacturing jobs in the U.S., Ford CEO Mike Fields said he is pleased with Trump’s policy proposals.
“We look at all factors, including what we view as a more positive U.S. manufacturing business environment under President-elect Trump, and it’s literally a vote of confidence around some of the pro-growth policies that he has been outlining,” Fields said.
Major U.S. media responded by questioning whether Ford struck a deal with Trump and by accusing the president-elect of allowing crony capitalism to flourish. Ford denies it struck a deal with Trump, although company executives spoke with the president-elect, as well as Vice president-elect Mike Pence, before making the announcement.
Thank you to Ford for scrapping a new plant in Mexico and creating 700 new jobs in the U.S. This is just the beginning – much more to follow
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2017