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Trump’s Unwelcome News to Auto Chiefs: Buckle Up for What’s to Come (www.nytimes.com)

submitted 2 years ago by breakfastmtn@lemmy.ca to c/politics@lemmy.world

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In a phone call from the Oval Office, President Trump had just delivered unwelcome news to three of America’s most powerful auto executives: Mary Barra of General Motors, John Elkann of Stellantis and Jim Farley of Ford.

Everyone needs to buckle up, Mr. Trump said on the call, which took place in early March. Tariffs are going into effect on April 2. It’s time for everyone to get on board.

The auto chiefs, like the leaders of other industries, had been arguing that Mr. Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on cars coming from Canada and Mexico would wreak havoc on their supply chains and blow a hole through their industry. They had won a concession of sorts when Mr. Trump agreed to give them a one-month reprieve, until April 2.

But now, the Big Three automaker chiefs seemed to realize there was no point in fighting for more. They had gotten as much as they were going to get.

MBFC
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[-] CaptDust@sh.itjust.works 58 points 2 years ago

One of Mr. Trump’s advisers, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations, said the Biden presidency proved to Mr. Trump that the stock market is not a foolproof barometer of the economy’s future, nor a useful indicator of voter sentiment. If it were, Mr. Biden, who presided over a booming stock market, would surely be the president, the adviser said.

That's one hell of a pivot, even for republicans.

[-] Enelop@lemm.ee 35 points 2 years ago

They are tearing down the economy for the benefit of the super wealthy. They have to say something to justify it.

[-] CaptDust@sh.itjust.works 24 points 2 years ago

No doubt. I just remember a time when 'god, guns and gains' were the only consistent republican policies, and this wasn't long ago. Declaring the stock market irrelevant would have had them booted from the party quicker than you can say dow jones.

Now here we are, watching maga cult handwave it all away to liquidate. Just insane.

[-] WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world 8 points 2 years ago

Not really. It's been a team sport far longer than Trump. Multiple decades of fascist state propaganda finally created a mass mental illness for a devil like Trump to exploit.

[-] CaptDust@sh.itjust.works 9 points 2 years ago

Full agreement about the "team sport" and them setting the field for trump, but traditionally gop members had to be team corporate interests first to even get on the bench.

But perhaps it's just me being shocked at the realization juggernaut companies like Ford and Intel are now being treated as "little guys" in the party controlled by individuals with billions in personal wealth.

[-] FlexibleToast@lemmy.world 10 points 2 years ago

I mean... They're just believing what they themselves proved. They're actually not wrong about that one thing. Granted, if you tank so hard that retirees feel the crushing weight of their 401ks losing value, that will definitely affect the vote.

[-] Zerlyna@lemmy.world 40 points 2 years ago

I’m in the auto industry. It’s FAFO time.

[-] DarkSpectrum@lemmy.world 5 points 2 years ago

Time for the big short

[-] Grass@sh.itjust.works 31 points 2 years ago

We all know that all of them voted for trump

[-] Uniquitous@lemmy.one 23 points 2 years ago

Don't these titans of industry have enough pet congress critters to push back on this?

[-] DrFistington@lemmy.world 10 points 2 years ago

Honestly, they have more than enough to buy an extremely well equipped paramilitary force, which would be more effective. Their pets are meaningless now since the ku klux king is in charge

[-] Catma@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago

The clean cr i believe had a provision in it that declared the remainder of congress 1 long day so they cant even force a vote on the emergency tariffs because they have to be in effect 15 days and they stopped counting at 14. So no they cant do shit about it

[-] Cyclist@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Everybody on the right, including the Masters of industry, are bending the knee because they are afraid of a MAGA backlash.

[-] BigMacHole@lemm.ee 22 points 2 years ago

Why are they upset? They LITERALLY Voted for this!

[-] mp3@lemmy.ca 13 points 2 years ago

They can open up factories in Canada to sell those vehicles within, using local (and tariff-free!) steel and aluminum. Way cheaper too :)

[-] the_crotch@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 years ago

They already build cars in Mexico and Canada. That's the problem, they want to sell them in the US

[-] gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 years ago

Hey world, seriously, just boycott all of our shit. Our cars aren’t even that good compared to stuff you can get elsewhere.

Find alternate suppliers when and where you can, for as much as you can. Bring us to our economic knees. Put the screws in. Particularly, stop buying big, well-known American brands. Blacklist Tesla and Coca-Cola and Dell and Levi’s and Jack Daniel’s and anything else you can think of. Make the companies start screaming. Our politicians only listen to companies and rich people now.

[-] anomnom@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 years ago

Also, hey Americans, I know it’s feeling led and less like we’re part of the world, but we’re capable of boycotting American companies (when possible) too. We gotta eat, but we don’t need shitty American cars.

Or we could just all strike, we can rent strike too. And yes, the police aren’t on our side, but will they ever be? Maybe if the economy is crashed enough they’ll come around, only one way to find out.

this post was submitted on 17 Mar 2025

162 points (98.8% liked)

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