Trump’s unwelcome news to auto chiefs: Buckle up for what’s to come

For corporate America, the shock of President Trump’s second term is that it turns out he really does believe that foreign countries are ripping America off and that tariffs are a silver bullet. Photo / The New York Times

The line fell silent.

In a phone call from the Oval Office, President Donald Trump had just delivered unwelcome news to three of America’s most powerful auto executives: Mary Barra of General Motors, John Elkann of Stellantis and Jim Farley of Ford.

Everyone needs to buckle up, Trump said on the call, which took place early this month. Tariffs are going into effect April 2. It’s time for everyone to get on board.

The auto chiefs, like the leaders of other industries, had been arguing that Trump’s 25% tariffs on cars coming from Canada and Mexico would wreak havoc on their supply chains and blow a hole through their industry. They had won a concession of sorts when Trump agreed to give them a one-month reprieve, until April 2.

But now, the Big Three automaker chiefs seemed to realise there was no point in fighting for more. They had got as much as they were going to get.

For corporate America, including some major donors, the shock of Trump’s second term is that it turns out he really does believe the thing he has been saying publicly for 40 years: Foreign countries are ripping America off, and tariffs are a silver bullet for America’s problems. When he says that “tariff” is the most beautiful word in the dictionary, he means it.

To Trump, tariffs are not merely a negotiating tool. He believes they will make America rich again. And they combine two of his favorite features of the presidency: They are a unilateral power that he can turn on or off on a whim, and they create a begging economy, forcing powerful people to come before him to plead for mercy.

This account is based on interviews with more than a dozen Trump administration officials and others familiar with the dynamic at the White House over tariffs. They asked for anonymity to discuss private conversations and deliberations.

In the corporate community — a group that spends a fortune on consultants to interpret Trump, and where the cliche of taking him “seriously but not literally” is in high circulation — many had been clinging to the view that he saw tariffs only as a tool of leverage. It was not that Trump loved tariffs, they told themselves. It was that he loved what the threat of them could yield in a negotiation.

Written by: Jonathan Swan, Maggie Haberman and Ana Swanson

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