President Donald Trump scolded General Motors on Friday for shifting car production to China, despite getting a taxpayer bailout.
“They moved major plants to China, BEFORE I CAME INTO OFFICE,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “This was done despite the saving help given them by the USA. Now they should start moving back to America again?”
Taxpayers funded a $50 billion package that bailed out General Motors after the company went bankrupt in 2009, as the federal government ultimately lost $11.2 billion in the process.
Trump described General Motors as “once the Giant of Detroit” but mocked it as “one of the smallest auto manufacturers.”
Despite their history in Detroit, General Motors now employs fewer union American workers in the city than any of their domestic rivals.
In 2018, GM sold 3.6 million vehicles in China compared with about 2.9 million in the United States as sales in China make up to 43 percent of their global sales.
The Buick Envision SUV is built entirely in China, and now faces a 25 percent tariff to come to the United States, as a result of Trump’s newly enacted tariffs on Chinese manufactured cars.
Trump has continued to criticize GM CEO Mary Barra, particularly after she announced plans in 2018 to close four US auto manufacturing plants.
General Motors, which was once the Giant of Detroit, is now one of the smallest auto manufacturers there. They moved major plants to China, BEFORE I CAME INTO OFFICE. This was done despite the saving help given them by the USA. Now they should start moving back to America again?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 30, 2019
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