General Motors CEO Mary Barra expressed tentative optimism about how President-elect Donald Trump’s America First agenda will affect the manufacturing industry during his second term.
Trump has promised to enact massive tariffs on competitor countries in order to bring back manufacturing jobs to the United States in cities such as Detroit, where GM and other top automotive companies are based.
During an Automotive Press Association event Wednesday evening, Barra weighed in on what she thinks about the incoming administration’s economic priorities, saying she believes they are “very goal-aligned.”
“We want a strong economy. We want a strong manufacturing base in this country. We agree automotive jobs are important. I think there’s a lot that we could work on. But there’s going to be changes. But we’ve worked with many administrations for decades,” she said.
“I’m actually looking forward to working with the president and with the administration because I think we can grow the importance of the auto industry and manufacturing, and so I think there’s a lot that we have in common,” Barra added.
When pressed on the tariffs Trump has promised to place on countries including Canada and Mexico, where GM builds vehicles, Barra said the economic policy could have a “very substantial impact” on her company.
However, she said GM is providing the incoming Trump administration “input in the background” on the tactic, described Trump’s tariff threats as part of the negotiating process to bring competitor countries to the table, and implied the president-elect’s economic strategy might be effective.
“I think they’re understanding the implications,” the GM CEO said of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican officials, who have been engaged in discussions with Trump since he won the election.
Trump said during a recent NBC interview that after he called Mexican officials to say he would place 25% tariffs on the country if it didn’t stop drugs and people from crossing into the U.S., he saw immediate results.
“I called the border … And I said, ‘How’s the border looking today?’ They said, ‘There’s nobody here.’ They couldn’t believe it,” Trump said.
GM peaked decades ago, dominating the global automotive market in Detroit, Michigan, where it was one of the “big three” automobile manufacturers, alongside Stellantis and Ford, that reigned supreme in the Motor City.
Trump has lamented the broad decline of manufacturing in the city, even taking to Detroit during his campaign with promises to restore the former manufacturing giant to glory by placing tariffs on foreign competitors.
The president-elect has often faced skepticism that, in practice, tariffs could raise prices for people, the reverse of what he has said the tactic would do.
Trump responded to criticism last week with assertions he had “stopped wars” with tariffs “by saying, ‘You guys want to fight, it’s great. But both of you are going to pay tariffs to the United States at 100%.’”
He also pointed to how the economy was doing at the end of his first term in office to argue that the tariffs placed on competitors such as China worked.
“When I handed it over to Biden, the stock market was higher than what it was just previous to Covid coming in. It was actually higher. Tariffs are a — properly used, are a very powerful tool, not only economically, but also for getting other things outside of economics,” Trump said.
Trump often criticized GM during his first term for moving operations overseas.
“Once the Giant of Detroit, is now one of the smallest auto manufacturers there. They moved major plants to China, BEFORE I CAME INTO OFFICE. This was done despite the saving help given them by the USA. Now they should start moving back to America again?” he said in August 2019.
The company has been beset with difficulties since it first started to decline in the second half of the 20th century. Most recently, Barra announced the company would retreat from its ambitious plans for autonomous vehicles, abandoning its Cruise robo-taxi dreams.
On Wednesday, Barra endorsed a federal regulatory framework for self-driving cars, which top Trump ally Elon Musk has pushed for.
She also made favorable comments about Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency, which Musk is spearheading.
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“I can’t really speak to his intentions, but I do know Elon, and he and I have talked on a number of occasions,” Barra said. “If you look at some of the bureaucracy that is hampering many industries and organizations … there is room for streamlining.”
Overall, the GM CEO held a hopeful outlook on the next four years, saying of Trump: “My experience has been that he listens intently. He listens very intently.”