Donald Trump wants to reinvigorate the American job market, and he appears to be using intimidation tactics to get it done. On Tuesday, the president-elect tweeted that if General Motors does not make its Chevy Cruze automobile in the U.S., the auto giant will face a large tax.
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
But GM was quick to fire back in a statement, saying that Trump didn’t get his facts straight. The Detroit-based auto company said the sedan model of the Cruze is produced in Lordstown, Ohio, while the hatchback model for global markets is made in Mexico, only some of which are sold in the U.S.
CNBC notes that GM sold 190,000 Cruze models in the U.S. in 2016, while only 2.4 percent of those (or 4,500) were hatchbacks produced in Mexico. The president-elect has yet to offer a rebuttal to GM.
Trump’s threat to GM comes after his much publicized Carrier deal, which kept more than 1,000 jobs in Indiana. But the deal faced controversy, as some jobs will still be relocated to Mexico, and Carrier was awarded hefty tax breaks for the 1,000 jobs. But that hasn’t stopped Trump from tweeting the good news.
Here, the Trump’s main gripe appears to be his assumption that GM is building their Chevy Cruze models in Mexico and sending them to the U.S., tax-free. He’s previously proposed a hearty 35 percent tax for automakers, including Ford, who choose not to play ball. It should be noted however, that Trump appointed GM CEO Mary Barra to his job creation team, which may be a clue to why he originally posted the tweet.