Bill Ford Doesn’t Seem Too Concerned About Trump’s Tariffs

With Ford seemingly resigned to the fact that it will have to pay tariffs on imported automobiles and parts, the automaker is currently lobbying the Trump administration to instead give it a pass on low-cost components. However, rather than raise prices as many have expected it to, Ford instead opted to roll out an “employee pricing for everyone” incentive this week, somewhat surprisingly. As it turns out, the company’s Executive Chairman, Bill Ford, isn’t too terribly concerned about these tariffs, either.

“First of all, we have the largest American footprint of any OEM, and that puts us in pretty good shape relative to many others,” Ford said at the reveal of the new Ranger Super Duty, according to CarExpert. “We’ve been around 122 years, and in 122 years, around the world we’ve gone through every kind of political regime, every kind of economic turmoil – depressions and recessions – and we always come out of it in great shape. I’ve been through nine major crises in my career, and each time it felt like it was existential, and each time we emerged from it, carried on and go to new heights.”

“This will take some adjusting to for sure,” Ford added. “The fact we have the largest American footprint, we employ the most Americans and we make the most vehicles in America puts us in pretty good shape. But we’re still working through all the implications of this because as you can imagine, this has tails well into our supply chain all around the world. There’s still a TBD for us on some of the finer points. We’re going to work very closely with the administration. The good news is we have a large voice in America and in American industry, the administration listens to us, and we’ll work with them as this gets clarified.”

Ford also added that “it’s too early to tell” when asked whether or not the tariffs would have any implications for the automaker, but CEO Jim Farley previously told employees that the company stands to be impacted significantly, given the fact that it does build a handful of vehicles in other countries, and it also sources some parts from outside of the U.S. as well. In the meantime, the automaker and at least one of its dealers have been in the process of stockpiling parts that will be subjected to tariffs.