Just a couple of days back, US President-elect Donald Trump threatened that Ford Motor would be imposed with a 35% cross border tax if the automaker goes ahead to manufacture cars in Mexico and then ship them for sales in the United States, now Toyota is also facing the same treatment from the president elect, the Washington Post reports.
Just a few hours ago, Trump tweeted that Toyota will be slapped with a heavy border tax if the Japanese company forges ahead to manufacture its small Corolla in Mexico and then bring then in for sales in the US – a development that Toyota is still studying.
When Trump threatened Ford Motor with a 35% border tax if it builds its cars in Mexico, the automaker responded by cancelling production in Mexico even though it had invested $1.6 billion in a car factory in the country. Ford said they will spend another $700 million to construct another car facility in Michigan for the car production instead.
That was not all. Trump also called out General Motors and issued the same ultimatum. Now it’s Toyota’s turn.
Toyota announced in 2015 that it will start manufacturing new Corolla models in a new car factory in Mexico, adding that the move will create 2,000 jobs for Mexicans. The automaker clarified that the Mexican auto plant will not affect car production or employment in the US, having invested over $21.9 billion in the US across 10 car factories, including 1,500 car dealerships, and employing 136,000 Americans.
Akio Toyoda, the president of Toyota, said in Tokyo that his company may not scuttle plans for the Mexican car factory. He added that his company is ready to work with the Trump administration to make American economy stronger and would do its best to remain good corporate citizens.
“I don’t know yet exactly how, but, regardless of who becomes president, our business is about being good corporate citizens,” Toyoda had said.
It is expected that Honda might be Trump’s next auto target, even though Honda President Takahiro Hachigo had revealed that his company would go ahead with building cars in Mexico without any detrimental effects on existing US plants or employees.