GM Rival Ford Halts Vehicle Exports To China Due To Trade War

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Ford Motor Company has halted shipments of various U.S.-built models to China as a consequence of the ongoing trade war between the United States and China. As a response to exorbitant new tariffs on China imposed by the Trump administration, China pushed tariffs to as high as 150 percent for cars imported from the States.

“We have adjusted exports from the U.S. to China in light of the current tariffs,” a Ford spokeswoman told the Wall Street Journal, without specifying models or timing.

The models specified by the report include the F-150 Raptor (the only F-150 variant that Ford sells in China), Mustang, and Bronco, all of which are made in Michigan. A few popular models marketed in China that Ford produces domestically include the Mondeo, Territory, Equator, and a unique Chinese-market version of the Explorer.

It will be interesting to see whether GM makes a similar move and adjust its exports from the U.S. to China. GM does a lot of local manufacturing in China, but all high-end Durant Guild models marketed in the Asian country are built in the United States. These include the Chevy Tahoe, Chevy Corvette, GMC Hummer EV, and Cadillac Celestiq. Although these were already expensive vehicles, there may not realistically be room for their MSRPs to go high enough to offset the costs of new tariffs.

We reported earlier this month that President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on reciprocal import tariffs announced on “Liberation Day” for most countries, but China wasn’t one of them. Also, the 25-percent tariff on all cars imported to the States remains, albeit with temporary exemptions for USMCA-compliant cars.

“Based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the World’s Markets, I am hereby raising the Tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125 percent, effective immediately,” Trump said in a social media post at the time.