By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump met with General Motors CEO Mary Barra on Wednesday to talk about the automaker’s investment plans amid an ongoing tariff war, a White House official told Reuters.
Last week, Trump agreed to exempt automakers from his punishing 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico for one month as long as they comply with existing free trade rules after a call with Barra, Ford CEO Jim Farley and Stellantis chair John Elkann.
Trump told reporters on Thursday that GM had visited on Wednesday “and they want to invest $60 billion.”
GM did not immediately comment Thursday on the meeting and it is not clear over what period any new spending may occur. Automakers have told the White House they need certainty about tariff and vehicle emissions policies before they can make significant changes in North American investment plans.
Trump this week imposed bulked-up tariffs on steel and aluminum impacting nearly $150 billion worth of derivative products made from the metals, ranging from cars to bulldozer blades.
The metals tariffs were hiked to an effective increase of 25% as prior exemptions, exclusions and quotas expired.
The American Automotive Policy Council, a group representing the Detroit Three automakers, noted domestic automakers purchase the vast majority of their steel and aluminum in the United States or North America but raised concerns that “specifically revoking exemptions for Canada and Mexico will add significant costs for our suppliers.”
Stellantis told its dealers last week it is prepared to work with Trump “to support further investment in our U.S. manufacturing footprint but we need time to make these changes without negatively impacting the business and our customers.”
Trump has also threatened new reciprocal tariffs on April 2 that could drastically hike the costs of vehicles imported from Japan, South Korea and Europe.
Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick have told automakers in meetings they want the industry to move more assembly and parts production to the United States.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Diane Craft)
