Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Auto Industry Declares War on Trump Over NAFTA


Every morning, as the sun rises over the Great Lakes, dozens of 18-wheelers queue up on both sides of the Ambassador Bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario. Over the course of the day, hundreds more will pay their tolls, cross the 90-year-old span and clear Customs, the majority of them carrying automotive parts and accessories, as well as fully assembled vehicles.

The scene repeats itself at a number of other locations, including the Blue Water Bridge linking Port Huron, Michigan, and Sarnia, Ontario. In fact, there is so much truck traffic that a third bridge is set to be erected on the south side of Detroit.

Perhaps no industry has more deeply embraced the benefits of the North American Free Trade Agreement since it went into effect on Jan. 1, 1994. That helps explain why automakers and auto parts suppliers have become some of the fiercest and most vocal opponents of the Trump administration’s plan to renegotiate, and even demolish, NAFTA.

As a candidate, Donald Trump turned American manufacturing jobs into a cornerstone of his campaign and early on attacked Ford over its plans to shift production of small passenger cars, such as the Focus, from the U.S. to Mexico. In office, he scuttled the trans-Pacific trade deal negotiated under President Barack Obama and ordered U.S. negotiators to go back to the bargaining table with their counterparts from Canada and Mexico. 

Click here for the full article. 

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