Whitmer told Trump in private that Michigan auto jobs depend on a tariff
change of course
[August 11, 2025] By
JOEY CAPPELLETTI and JOSH BOAK
WASHINGTON (AP) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer met privately in the
Oval Office with President Donald Trump to make a case he did not want
to hear: The automotive industry he said he wants to save was being hurt
by his tariffs.
The Democrat came with a slide deck to make her points in a visual
presentation. Just getting the meeting Tuesday with the Republican
president was an achievement for someone viewed as a contender for her
party's White House nomination in 2028.
Whitmer’s strategy for dealing with Trump highlights the conundrum for
her and other Democratic leaders as they try to protect the interests of
their states while voicing their opposition to his agenda. It's a
dynamic that Whitmer has navigated much differently from many other
Democratic governors.
The fact that Whitmer had “an opening to make direct appeals” in private
to Trump was unique in this political moment, said Matt Grossman, a
Michigan State University politics professor.
It was her third meeting with Trump at the White House since he took
office in January. This one, however, was far less public than the time
in April when Whitmer was unwittingly part of an impromptu news
conference that embarrassed her so much she covered her face with a
folder.
On Tuesday, she told the president that the economic damage from the
tariffs could be severe in Michigan, a state that helped deliver him the
White House in 2024. Whitmer also brought up federal support for
recovery efforts after an ice storm and sought to delay changes to
Medicaid.
Trump offered no specific commitments, according to people familiar with
the private conversation who were not authorized to discuss it publicly
and spoke only on condition of anonymity to describe it.
Whitmer is hardly the only one sounding the warning of the potentially
damaging consequences, including factory job losses, lower profits and
coming price increases, of the import taxes that Trump has said will be
the economic salvation for American manufacturing.
White House spokesman Kush Desai said no other president “has taken a
greater interest in restoring American auto industry dominance than
President Trump." Trade frameworks negotiated by the administration
would open up the Japanese, Korean and European markets for vehicles
made on assembly lines in Michigan, Desai said.
But the outreach Trump has preferred tends to be splashy presentations
by tech CEOs. In the Oval Office on Wednesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook gave
the president a customized glass plaque with a gold base as Cook
promised $600 billion in investments. Trump claims to have brought in
$17 trillion in investment commitments, although none of those numbers
has surfaced yet in economic data.
Under his series of executive orders and trade frameworks, U.S.
automakers face import taxes of 50% on steel and aluminum, 30% on parts
from China and a top rate of 25% on goods from Canada and Mexico not
covered under an existing 2020 trade agreement. That puts America's
automakers and parts suppliers at a disadvantage against German,
Japanese and South Korean vehicles that only face a 15% import tax
negotiated by Trump last month.
On top of that, Trump this past week threatened a 100% tariff on
computer chips, which are an integral part of cars and trucks, though he
would exclude companies that produce chips domestically from the tax.
Whitmer's two earlier meetings with Trump resulted in gains for
Michigan. But the tariffs represent a significantly broader request of a
president who has imposed them even more aggressively in the face of
criticism.
[to top of second column] |
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks with former television
journalist Gretchen Carlson, not shown, at an event on April 9,
2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
 Materials in the presentation
brought by Whitmer to the meeting and obtained by The Associated
Press noted how trade with Canada and Mexico has driven $23.2
billion in investment to Michigan since 2020.
General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis operate 50 factories across the
state, while more than 4,000 facilities support the auto parts
supply chain. Altogether, the sector supports nearly 600,000
manufacturing jobs, forming the backbone of Michigan’s economy.
Whitmer outlined the main points of the materials to Trump and left
copies with his team.
To Grossman, the Michigan State professor, a key question is whether
voters who expected to be helped by tariffs would react if Trump’s
import taxes failed to deliver the promised economic growth.
“Everyone’s aware that Michigan is a critical swing state and the
auto industry has outsized influence, not just directly, but
symbolically,” Grossman said.
AP VoteCast found that Trump won Michigan in 2024 largely because
two-thirds of its voters described the economic conditions as being
poor or “not so good.” Roughly 70% of the voters in the state who
felt negatively about the economy backed the Republican. The state
was essentially split over whether tariffs were a positive, with
Trump getting 76% of those voters who viewed them favorably.
The heads of General Motors, Ford and Stellantis have repeatedly
warned the administration that the tariffs would cut company profits
and undermine their global competitiveness. Their efforts have
resulted in little more than a temporary, monthlong pause intended
to give companies time to adjust. The reprieve did little to blunt
the financial fallout.
In the second quarter alone, Ford reported $800 million in
tariff-related costs, while GM said the import taxes cost it $1.1
billion. Those expenses could make it harder to reinvest in new
domestic factories, a goal Trump has championed.
“We expect tariffs to be a net headwind of about $2 billion this
year, and we’ll continue to monitor the developments closely and
engage with policymakers to ensure U.S. autoworkers and customers
are not disadvantaged by policy change,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said on
his company's earning call.
Since Trump returned to the White House, Michigan has lost 7,500
manufacturing jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Smaller suppliers have felt the strain, too.
Detroit Axle, a family-run auto parts distributor, has been one of
the more vocal companies in Michigan about the impact of the
tariffs. The company initially announced it might have to shut down
a warehouse and lay off more than 100 workers, but later said it
would be able to keep the facility open, at least for now.
“Right now it's a market of who is able to survive, it's not a
matter of who can thrive,” said Mike Musheinesh, owner of Detroit
Axle.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
