Ford: Trump Is Wrong About Impact of Tariffs

Ford says it isn't going to shift production of the Focus Active from China to the US, despite President Trump's thoughts on the matter. Trump boasted in a tweet Sunday that new tariffs on Chinese imports had forced the automaker to abandon plans to sell the Chinese-made Focus Active in the US. "This is just the beginning," Trump wrote. "This car can now be BUILT IN THE U.S.A. and Ford will pay no tariffs!" Ford, however, says it will simply not sell the compact car in the US, though it will be available elsewhere, MarketWatch reports. The company, which is now focusing on making SUVs instead of cars, says expected sales weren't high enough to justify building the Active in the US.

"It would not be profitable to build the Focus Active in the US, given an expected annual sales volume of fewer than 50,000 units," Ford said in a statement, adding: "Ford is proud to employ more US hourly workers and build more vehicles in the US than any other automaker." Kristin Dziczek of the Center for Automotive Research tells the AP that Ford can make the vehicle "in many other plants around the world, so if they decided to continue to sell a Focus variant in the US market, there are several options other than building it in the United States." (Chinese state media mocked Trump as a round of tariffs took effect last month.)