GM CEO Mary Barra on Trump tariffs and US manufacturing: 'We could have done better'

USA Today

2 days ago

GM CEO Mary Barra on Trump tariffs and US manufacturing: 'We could have done better'
Show Caption
Hide Caption
General Motors: History, innovation, and legacy
Learn about the rich history and notable innovations of General Motors, from its founding in 1908 to its leadership in electric and autonomous vehicle technology.
Barra applauded the relief stemming from the most recent executive orders signed April 29 which prevented tariffs stacking on previously announced steel and aluminum taxes.
During the negotiation of USMCA in 2018, conversations between the president and GM occasionally turned ugly.
GM is in the middle of changing its manufacturing operations to reduce tariff costs, Barra said.
General Motors CEO Mary Barra acknowledges the company could have been better positioned during its conversations with President Donald Trump in his first term — particularly when it came to the Detroit automaker's North American manufacturing operations.
GM's top executive said onstage at the Wall Street Journal's Future of Everything conference in New York City that she brings lessons learned from past interactions with Trump's White House to today's tariff-related conversations.
'When we didn't see eye to eye on some things, I think there's actually some things where General Motors could have handled some situations better,' Barra said May 28 about the company's past chats with Trump's administration. 'We had to do some restructuring, and we could have executed better, which would have positioned it a lot better.'
During the negotiation of USMCA in 2018, the current trade agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada that Trump managed during his first term, conversations between the President and GM occasionally turned ugly. At the time, GM was in the process of shuttering its massive assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio, which had focused on manufacturing small cars, amid restructuring efforts that involved layoffs of nearly 6,000 salaried workers in North America. Trump claimed these job cuts had "nothing to do with tariffs" then imposed by his administration on China and the European Union.
The changes made national headlines and drew negative attention, and tweets from the president.
'But even through that period and then beyond, we've always continued to have dialogue, and that's a kind of a lesson learned. I've been very clear that I believe in electric vehicles, I'm very clear about the importance of manufacturing,' Barra told WSJ editor in chief Emma Tucker. 'Having the dialogue to make sure they understand our industry — because I think we do have a shared goal of strengthening it — has been beneficial.'
GM is facing costs up to $5 billion from Trump's tariffs alone, the company reported during its most recent earnings report. Barra applauded the relief stemming from the most recent executive orders signed April 29 which were 25% tariffs on all imported autos which began in April and another 25% on all auto parts set to begin by May 3. The change prevented stacking tariffs with previously announced tariffs on steel and aluminum, the costs of which Barra described as 'untenable.'
GM has made a variety of production changes at plants in the United States this year, including an $888 million investment the company announced late May 27 in its New York propulsion assembly plant to produce the next generation V-8 engine, the automaker's largest ever in an engine plant. GM said April 23 that it planned to expand transmission production at its Toledo (Ohio) Propulsions Systems plant, where it builds transmissions used in the Silverado and Sierra pickup trucks.
'We're trying to make changes to pay less tariffs because we're strengthening our U.S. manufacturing,' Barra said. 'There's decisions we can make when we look at the entire equation … we have the capacity available in some of the assembly plants and engine plants that we have in this country that we're going to continue to utilize.'
On April 3, Trump put a 25% tariff — the tax an importer pays on a good when it crosses international borders — on all imported vehicles. His objective was to encourage more U.S. manufacturing. Trump was set to then enact 25% tariffs on all imported parts starting May 3. Since most vehicles assembled in the United States contain a lot of imported parts, the duties on those parts would run into thousands of dollars per vehicle.
Ford Motor Co. rolled out a campaign and discounts the day tariffs first kicked in, offering its employee-pricing plan, known as the A Plan, to consumers on most of Ford 2024 and 2025 model year vehicles through June 2. But executives later said prices may necessarily rise to counteract tariff costs on the company's bottom line.
General Motors did not join automakers that cut costs and advertised tariff-free pricing deals, and Barra would not commit to post-tariff vehicle price changes, citing the dynamic pricing of the automotive industry even without tariffs that requires changing to stay competitive.
'I've had the opportunity to talk to the president and his administration on a regular basis, and one of the things that I'm very appreciative is they have taken the time to understand ... the dynamics of our industry,' Barra said. 'I can't speak to all the other industries that are facing tariffs, but I can tell you for decades now, it has not been a level playing field with U.S. automakers globally with either tariffs or non-tariff trade barriers.'
Senior autos writer Jamie L. LaReau contributed to this report.
Jackie Charniga covers General Motors for the Free Press. Reach her at [e-mail].