Ford Backed Group Urges Trump Not To Impose Tariffs On Plant Robotics, Machinery

Though tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump have cost Ford some money - a total of $800 million in Q2 alone - those same levies have also given The Blue Oval a competitive advantage in some regards, largely due to its substantial domestic manufacturing footprint. This recently came into play when Trump imposed 25 percent tariffs on imported medium- and heavy-duty trucks, which Ford builds entirely in the U.S., while its rival, Stellantis, does so in Mexico. However, a Ford backed lobby group is now working to prevent new tariffs on assembly plant machinery from going into effect.

That group is the Alliance for Automotive Innovation (AAI), which represents Ford and pretty most all major automakers, according to Reuters. The move comes after the U.S. Commerce Department opened a national security probe last month, centered around robotics and machinery used in the vehicle production process, a move that could be used to impose tariffs on those types of goods.

"Increasing the cost of equipment at existing facilities will raise overall production costs for automotive manufacturers, could cause production delays, and may result in vehicle shortages and higher vehicle prices on American consumers at a time when new vehicle prices are already at historic highs," AAI wrote in its comments to the agency.

AAI also pointed to a study that found that 40 percent of all robotics and industrial machinery installations in the U.S. last year happened in automotive production facilities, and asked that if the administration did choose to impose tariffs on those goods, that it would at leas exclude the robots used in U.S.-based production.

Some of this critical machinery is only produced outside of the U.S. - including things used for extreme ultraviolet lithography in semiconductor manufacturing - meaning that tariffs could "undermine the very domestic semiconductor manufacturing capacity the administration seeks to build," AAI stated.