Trump’s tweet came shortly after Toyota Motor President Akio Toyoda told reporters that his company is “oriented in the same direction” as the United States, according to the Wall Street Journal. Toyota said it has invested nearly $22 billion into its operations here and employs about 136,000 workers.
Earlier this week, Trump lashed out at General Motors on Twitter for assembling some of its Chevrolet Cruzes in Mexico. The company said that nearly all of the 190,000 Cruze models sold in the United States last year were made at a factory in Lordstown, Ohio. GM makes Cruze hatchbacks at a factory in Mexico and shipped 4,500 across the border.
On Twitter this week, Trump also celebrated a decision by Ford to cancel a new $1.6 billion plant in Mexico to build the Focus ― a business move that he had frequently criticized on the campaign trail. But Ford said the work will move instead to an existing factory in Mexico, a decision driven by declining demand for small cars in the United States. The company said it would use roughly half the money saved to create 700 U.S. jobs and invest in its factories in Michigan and Illinois.
“If American companies stay in the United States and continue to hire American workers to grow our manufacturing base, then there is no tariff,” Trump spokesman Sean Spicer said Thursday.
Trump’s protectionist stance runs counter to Republicans’ historic embrace of free trade, and even Trump’s top advisers appear to be conflicted over the merits of globalization. His choice to lead the National Economic Council, Gary Cohn, is a Wall Street veteran with extensive international experience. But the head of the newly established National Trade Council, Peter Navarro, has been an outspoken critic of China. Robert Lighthizer, Trump’s pick to lead U.S. trade negotiations, has also been skeptical of free trade’s benefits.
In a statement following Lighthizer’s nomination this week, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), ranking member of the finance committee, called for clarity on the new White House’s policies.
“It is well past time for the incoming administration to explain its approach toward international trade beyond 140 characters,” he said.
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