Washington (AP) – Michigan Government Gretchen Whitmer Met me personally in an oval office President Donald Trump To claim he doesn’t want to hear: the auto industry he said he wanted to save was hurt by His tariffs.
The Democrat had a slide deck to make her point in visual presentations. Convening a meeting with the Republican president last Tuesday was a feat for anyone considered the party’s White House nomination in 2028.
Whitmer’s strategy to deal with Trump highlights the challenges of her and other Democrat leaders as she and other Democrat leaders seek to protect the interests of their nation while opposing his agenda. It is dynamic that Whitmer navigated in a very different way than many other Democratic governors.
Matt Grossman, a political professor at Michigan State University, said the fact that Whitmer’s private “opening to file a direct appeal” to Trump was unique in this political moment.
It was her Third meeting with Trump He has been in office in January at the White House. However, this was far less public than in April’s time when Whitmer was unconsciously a part of it. Improvised press conference That made her very embarrassed. She covered her face with folders.
On Tuesday, she told the president that tariffs could be severe in Michigan, the state that helped him get to the White House in 2024. After the ice storm, Whitmer tried to bring federal support for recovery efforts and delay changes to Medicaid.
Trump did not provide a specific commitment, according to people familiar with private conversations that were not allowed to discuss it publicly, saying he was on the condition of anonymity to explain it.
Whitmer isn’t the only one sounding warnings of unemployment in factories, lower profits and potentially damaging consequences of import taxes that Trump said would be a financial relief for American manufacturing.
White House spokesman Kush Desai said “has no greater interest in restoring control of the American automotive industry than President Trump.” The trade framework negotiated by the administration will open up Japanese, South Korea and European markets for vehicles made with Michigan assembly lines, Desai said.
But Trump’s favorite outreach tends to be flashy presentations by high-tech CEOs. In the oval office on Wednesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook gave the president a customized glass plaque at a gold base as Cook promised a $600 billion investment. Trump claims he has brought about a $17 trillion investment commitment, but those figures have not yet emerged in economic data.
Under his series of executive orders and trade frameworks, US automakers face import taxes on steel and aluminum, 30% of parts from China and 25% of Canadian and Mexican goods that are not subject to the existing 2020 trade agreements. This puts American automakers and parts suppliers at a disadvantage against vehicles in Germany, Japan and South Korea, facing 15% import taxes that Trump negotiated last month.
On top of that, Trump last week threatened a 100% tariff on computer chips, an integral part of cars and trucks, but he excludes companies that produce chips domestically from taxes.
Two previous meetings with Whitmer and Trump brought Michigan’s benefits. However, tariffs represent a rather broad demand from the president who has more aggressively imposed them in the face of criticism.
The presentation material led Whitmer to the meeting and acquired by the Associated Press, noting how trade between Canada and Mexico has driven its investment in Michigan by $23.2 billion since 2020.
General Motors, Ford and Stellantis operate 50 factories across the state, with over 4,000 facilities supporting the auto parts supply chain. Overall, the sector supports nearly 600,000 manufacturing jobs and forms the backbone of Michigan’s economy.
Whitmer outlined the key points of the material to Trump and left a copy for his team.
For Michigan professor Grossman, the key question is whether voters who are expected to be helped by tariffs will respond if Trump’s import taxes do not bring about promised economic growth.
“We all know that Michigan is a key swing state and that the automotive industry has a huge impact not directly but symbolically,” Grossman said.
The AP vote discovered Trump won the state of Michigan in 2024. This is because two-thirds of voters described the economic situation as “not poor or not that good.” Approximately 70% of state voters who felt negative about the economy supported Republicans. The nation is essentially divided over whether tariffs are positive or not, and Trump has earned 76% of voters who viewed them positively.
Heads of General Motors, Ford and Stellantis repeatedly warned the administration that tariffs would cut the company’s profits and undermine their global competitiveness. Their efforts were merely a temporary one-month pause aimed at giving businesses time to coordinate. The grace did little to blunt the financial fallout.
In the second quarter alone, Ford reported tariff-related costs of $800 million, while GM said import tax costs were $1.1 billion. These costs could make it difficult to reinvest in a new domestic factory, a Trump-funded target.
“We expect tariffs to be a net headwind of around $2 billion this year. We will continue to monitor development and continue to engage with policy makers, ensuring that US automotive workers and customers are not at a disadvantage due to policy changes.”
Michigan has lost 7,500 manufacturing jobs since Trump returned to the White House, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Smaller suppliers are also feeling nervous.
Detroit Axle, a family-owned auto parts distributor, is one of Michigan’s most vocal companies about the impact of tariffs. The company initially announced that it may need to close the warehouse and fire more than 100 workers, but said it could leave the facility open for at least for now.
“Now, it’s a market for who can survive, not who can flourish,” said Mike Musinesh, owner of Detroit Axle.
