Trade War Watch: Volvo Worried About New U.S. Factory, Germans Want Tariffs Killed Entirely

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky

The ground beneath the factory Volvo Cars opened Wednesday in South Carolina grew shakier after company executives warned that the U.S.-China trade dispute could undo plans to create up to 4,000 auto jobs in the state.

As you probably know, Volvo is currently owned by Chinese automaker Geely — which has a lot to lose if trade relations break down. Geely intends to export Volvo’s American-built cars to markets outside the United States. The situation’s a problematic one, as Volvo also imports the bulk of its U.S. market vehicles and any economic hurdles would surely gum up the works.

“If you have trade barriers and restrictions, we cannot create as many jobs as we are planning to,” Volvo Cars Chief Executive Hakan Samuelsson told Reuters during the factory’s opening.

While not a done deal, the automotive tariffs are a very real threat. China already imposes strict fees on imported vehicles (25 percent) and the White House seems to be looking for some kind of payback. While the United States levies a very low fee on imported cars (just 2.5 percent), its truck tariff is extremely high. The Trump administration’s trade proposals would hit imported cars with the existing 25 percent truck tariff. A U.S. tariff matching China’s is already scheduled to impact Chinese-built vehicles starting in early July.

Meanwhile, German automakers have begun voicing their support for the abolishment of all import tariffs for cars flowing between the European Union and the United States. Earlier this week, U.S. ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell brought the proposal to the industry as a possible way to avoid the brewing trade war. The deal would mean removing the EU’s 10-percent tax on auto imports and America’s 2.5-percent fee. It’s certainly a possible solution for Europe, but it doesn’t directly address the problems with China.

“We want to export and if suddenly China and Europe have very high barriers, it would be impossible,” Samuelsson said of Volvo. “Then you have to build the cars there. And then all cars will be more expensive, you have to invest more tooling and have every model in every country. That’s against all the logic of modern economies that trade with each other.”

Volvo claims it intends to hire about 4,000 workers once its new factory reaches full manufacturing capacity. Presently, it only has around 900 employees, but says it needs roughly 1,500 by the end of 2018 to meet production goals.

[Image: Volvo Cars]

Matt Posky
Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

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  • Arthur Dailey Arthur Dailey on Jun 22, 2018

    @ hreardon: Hear, hear. I agree 100% with that comment. However won't doing so offend Mr. Putin?

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  • ToolGuy Ford is good at drifting all right... 😉
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