Ford VS Trump: Automaker Refuses To Change Focus Hatch China Production Plans

Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook earlier this year told US President Donald Trump tariffs “were not the right approach”.

Chinese trade data released on Saturday could give Trump more reason to turn up the heat. It makes many of its products for the US market in China, and it also sells gadgets including the iPhone in China, making them a potential target for Chinese retaliation against the Trump tariffs.

On Sunday, President Trump welcomed the news as a positive sign.

With the cancelation of the Focus Active, a Ford spokesman confirms, the Mustang will eventually be the only Ford auto model sold in the U.S.

“Chinese trade data and a ballooning record surplus with the United States over the weekend won’t have helped”.

But Ford indicated in its statement that would not be the case.

Other moves overseas spurred on by tariff risks include a garment maker going to Myanmar, a mattress company opening a plant in Thailand and an electronic motor producer acquiring a Mexico-based factory, according to public filings from the firms.

Apple itself has already said which products would be hit as a result of the tariffs.

Trump took a similar tack with Apple. “Exciting! #MAGA”, Trump tweeted on Saturday after Apple outlined its arguments against USA tariffs on Chinese made products.

Ford won’t shift production of the Focus Active from China to the United States, dashing the hopes of President Donald Trump.

Technically, that’s true. Ford can build the Focus Active at a domestic plant, just like it can give the next Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 a manual transmission.

Beijing had warned of retaliation if Washington launched any new trade measures. Elsewhere, it largely relies on contract manufacturers, including Foxconn, which did in fact recently break ground on a new manufacturing facility in Wisconsin – albeit thanks to heavy subsidies from the Government. Cook has along with other titans of industry sought huge corporate tax cuts, which Trump was more than happy to sign late past year. The company supplies acoustic components and haptic technology – which enables users to receive tactile sensations from an interface – for Apple products such as the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. In the meanwhile, customers might have to deal with Apple products becoming even more costly than usual.

Rising trade concerns have been blamed on the decision by Geely, the Chinese owner of Volvo cars to delay its IPO, over concerns that the initial float would see the shares slide lower, over concerns about the implementation of U.S. tariffs on European cars. In general, the tech sector might be the biggest losers as these extra charges will make computer parts more expensive.

Apple is not the first company Trump has targeted on Twitter for foreign manufacturing.

– Brooke Sutherland is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering deals and industrial companies.