Whitmer Criticizes Trump's Canada Tariff Idea
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, in a Jan. 15 speech at the Detroit Auto Show, criticized President-elect Donald Trump's proposal to impose 25% tariffs on Canadian exports as one that would damage Michigan's auto sector, which employs, or leads to indirect employment of, more than a million people in the state -- a fifth of the workforce.
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Whitmer, a Democrat, said Ontario is a "key player in our auto ecosystem," and that 70% of Michigan-made auto parts are exported to Canada.
"While we may not agree with our Canadian neighbors about everything, I’m proud of the relationship we’ve built through agreements on cross-border electric vehicle testing, supply chains, trade, and job creation. Over the last few years, Canadian businesses have announced 26 projects in Michigan, creating over 4,000 jobs," she said, according to prepared remarks provided by her office on the day of her speech. “There’s been a lot of talk about tariffs. I’m not opposed to tariffs outright, but we can’t treat them like a ‘one size fits all’ solution. And we certainly shouldn’t use them to punish our closest trading partners.”
She quipped about Trump's jibes that Canada should be the 51st state, asking: "We are still two different countries, right?"
Whitmer said if tariffs are imposed on auto parts that move between Michigan and Canada and back again, the costs will be passed on to customers repairing or buying trucks and cars.
"The only winner in this equation is China. They would love nothing more than to watch us cripple America’s auto ecosystem all by ourselves. This is a matter of national security. We can’t let that happen."
Whitmer emphasized that she is talking to Ontario Premier Rob Ford -- a conservative politician -- and that Michigan's economic health depends on bipartisan cooperation and compromise in Lansing and in Washington.
After her speech, House Select Committee Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich., criticized it, though he was silent on the prospect of tariffs on Canada.
"Whitmer made hypocritical remarks on subsidies for Chinese companies in the auto industry. She pointed out that 'Chinese electric cars and batteries are gobbling up market share' and said that these companies could 'crush the core' of Michigan’s economy.
“Governor Whitmer has given hundreds of millions of dollars to Chinese auto suppliers in Michigan. If she is ready to show she is serious about stopping the Chinese Communist Party from taking over our auto industry she will end the state subsidies she approved for Chinese auto suppliers and stop their projects from moving forward," he said in a press release.
He was referring to Chinese foreign direct investment in Michigan to build batteries, or to license technology to Ford so it could build EV batteries.
On the campaign trail in Dayton, Ohio, which lost tens of thousands of auto parts and auto assembly jobs as the industry globalized, Trump said he welcomed Chinese FDI in the sector. "If they want to build a plant in Michigan, in Ohio, in South Carolina, they can -- using American workers, they can," he said in August.