Ford won't change Mexico plans despite Trump tariff threat, Fields says

LOS ANGELES -- Ford Motor Co. CEO Mark Fields said the Trump administration’s potential 35 percent tariff on vehicles imported from Mexico could have a “huge impact” on the U.S. economy, but the automaker has no plans to change its investments in Mexico.

“A tariff like that would be imposed on the entire auto sector, and that could have a huge impact on the U.S. economy,” Fields said today following his keynote address at the Los Angeles auto show. “I continue to be convinced that the right policies will prevail. I think we all share the same objective, which is a healthy and vibrant U.S. economy.”

President-elect Donald Trump has attacked Ford repeatedly for moving some production south of the border, vowing to impose a tariff that would force the automaker to bring jobs back to the U.S. Fields said the automaker still plans to move Ford Focus production to a $1.6 billion plant being built in Mexico and replace that with two vehicles at the company’s Michigan Assembly Plant.

Fields said he sent Trump a congratulatory letter and that Ford is in “constant communication” with Trump’s transition team.

“We have a proven track record of working with policymakers going all the way back to Teddy Roosevelt,” he said. “We expect to work very effectively and positively with the president-elect’s administration, as well as the new Congress.”

Fields said Ford’s priorities remain the same: currency-manipulation protection, fuel economy requirements that “are aligned with market realities,” tax reform and the safe adoption of autonomous cars.

“We look forward to working with the new administration,” he said.

Climate change

Meanwhile, Fields said Trump’s skepticism towards climate change and possible softening on CAFE fuel economy standards wouldn’t change Ford’s plan for vehicle electrification.

“I do think electrification will become a bigger part of this industry because it’s not only the U.S. When you look globally at European regulations and China regulations it’s really driving toward electrification,” he told Automotive News.

Ford said last year it would launch 13 new electrified vehicles by 2020 and was investing $4.5 billion in electric technologies over the same period.