{"id":718,"date":"2026-08-26T19:50:38","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T19:50:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/?p=718"},"modified":"2026-08-26T19:50:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T19:50:38","slug":"how-trump-is-destroying-detroit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/?p=718","title":{"rendered":"How Trump Is Destroying Detroit"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The U.S. auto industry was in big trouble even before President Trump imposed 50 percent tariffs on the profitable vehicles that the Big Three automakers produce in Ontario. Auto manufacturers make several trucks in Canada, including GM\u2019s Chevy Silverado and Ford\u2019s F-350 and F-450. These will now have to carry far higher sticker prices.<\/p>\n

Read more The House Always Wins, Even on House-less Kalshi<\/a><\/p>\n

The negotiations collapsed after Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick inserted himself in the final talks and declared that tariffs would not be cut on heavy trucks. Lutnick was already a particular nemesis for the Canadians. Last year, he said that he wanted to move auto production out of Canada and into the United States. At a U.S.-Canada summit, Lutnick told a Canadian audience that the United States was no longer interested in buying Canadian-made cars.<\/p>\n

More from Robert Kuttner<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The problem, however, is that supply chains for U.S. auto producers go back and forth across the border, and are not easily disentangled. In addition to heavy trucks, which will now have to pay 50 percent tariffs, cutting severely into sales, the Big Three make several other cars and trucks in Canada, including the Dodge Charger, Chrysler Pacifica, and Chrysler Voyager. Under Trump\u2019s retaliation, tariffs on cars and light trucks, which were \u201conly\u201d 25 percent, will rise to 50 percent on January 1 as well. Automakers will also pay 50 percent tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum.<\/p>\n

The whole point of NAFTA and its successor, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), was to create a seamless North American market for both production and consumption. In the case of production of cars, trucks, and parts, it is not possible to carry out Lutnick\u2019s fantasy of unscrambling that egg without severely damaging the domestic auto industry.<\/p>\n

These moves come on top of Trump\u2019s perverse effort to destroy the auto industry\u2019s necessary shift to EVs, which are already more efficient than cars powered by internal combustion engines. Based on his alliance with the oil industry, early in his second term, Trump killed several Biden clean-energy initiatives.<\/p>\n

On Inauguration Day in January 2025, Trump signed the \u201cUnleashing American Energy\u201d executive order, revoking the federal target that EVs comprise 50 percent of new car sales by 2030 and freezing the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program to create a national charging network.<\/p>\n

In the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and subsequent legislative changes, Trump terminated the $7,500 tax credit for new EV purchases. This led directly to a sharp drop in planned EV investment in Georgia, South Carolina, and Arizona. Ford canceled production of its F-150 electric pickup truck; GM moved its Orion plant back to manufacturing heavy luxury gas-powered SUVs, and Stellantis abandoned its planned electric Ram truck.<\/p>\n

Read more Is This Social Media\u2019s Big Tobacco Moment?<\/a><\/p>\n

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy rolled back President Biden\u2019s strict fuel economy goals that were intended to promote the shift to EVs. He cut the 2031 fleet average target from over 50 mpg down to 34.5 mpg. Long-standing fines for automakers failing to meet fuel rules were eliminated entirely.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, China\u2019s domination of the global EV market has only accelerated. China already accounts for about 75 percent of all EVs produced, and more than 60 percent of global sales. While Trump is depressing EV sales at home, EV sales top more than half of all auto sales in much of Europe and Asia. This is the future, and Trump is causing Detroit to miss out.<\/p>\n

Weirdly, while Trump has been acting to undermine the auto industry\u2019s move to EVs, his same administration has accelerated subsidy of domestic battery production, out of concern about Chinese dominance in battery technology and manufacture, which is crucial not just for EVs but for AI and defense. It\u2019s another case of totally contradictory Trump policies. Mastery of battery technology has helped China gain leadership in EVs; but even if the U.S. matches China in batteries, it will do nothing for U.S. EV sales, which Trump is doing his best to crush with other policies.<\/p>\n

At this writing, Michigan GOP senatorial candidate Mike Rogers has ducked all questions about Trump\u2019s tariffs. That has to help Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed, by keeping the focus on economic issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrump is escalating a trade war with Canada for his own vanity,\u201d El-Sayed said on social media, calling Rogers a \u201crubber stamp\u201d for Trump\u2019s policies. Not only is Michigan heavily dependent on the auto industry; a third of all the state\u2019s exports go to Canada. None of this has anything to do with Hasan Piker.<\/p>\n

Read more Cracking Down on Big Insurance in \u2026 Oklahoma?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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His takedown of the U.S. auto industry can\u2019t be good for Republicans in Michigan either.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":717,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[352],"class_list":["post-718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tap","tag-tagged-automakers-batteries-canada-china-donald-trump-electric-vehicles-energy-the-environment-howard-lutnick-michigan-on-tap-politic"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Trump Is Destroying Detroit - Frontier Housing Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/?p=718\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Trump Is Destroying Detroit - 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