Detroit Auto Show remarks follow Trump’s factory-floor comments
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer told the Detroit Auto Show that President Donald Trump’s tariff strategy would worsen conditions for the U.S. auto industry and benefit Chinese competitors.
Whitmer, who is in her last year as governor, spoke Thursday, two days after Trump defended his economic policy in Detroit and toured the factory floor of a Ford plant in Dearborn. Trump, in his Detroit remarks, said, “All U.S. automakers are doing great.”
Whitmer warns policy will worsen and points to China
Whitmer said in her speech that “This will only get worse without a serious shift in national policy,” portraying the tariff approach as having already hurt American auto manufacturing.
She said American manufacturing has contracted for months, which she linked to job loss and production cuts. She also argued that the tariff strategy has helped Chinese competitors, saying, “America stands more alone than she has in decades,” and adding, “And perhaps no industry has seen more change and been more impacted than our auto industry.”
Focus on supply chains and the U.S.-Canada relationship
Whitmer said she has made the same case repeatedly over the past year amid economic uncertainty in the automobile sector. She said that every time she met with Trump during that period, she told him that hurting the U.S.-Canadian relationship only helps Chinese competition.
The Associated Press reported that American auto parts and production often involve cross-border supply chains with Canada during assembly, and that Whitmer has opposed Trump’s tariff strategy since last year.
UMCA debate in separate speeches
During Trump’s Detroit-area tour, the Associated Press reported that he suggested the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement was irrelevant, while providing few other details. The Associated Press noted that UMCA is up for review this year.
Whitmer defended the trade agreement in her speech and said, “When we fight our neighbors, however, China wins.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Whitmer’s speech.