Nissan CEO Uchida said if President Trump follows a plan to impose a 25% tariff on imports from Mexico, the company could be forced to produce from Mexico.
At a press conference on the company's third quarter financial results, Uchida warned of the “big” outcome of such customs policy.
“We export a large amount of tariffs, so if the tariffs are high, this will have a big impact on our business, so we need to monitor this carefully.” Translation from Reuters.
Uchida said the company is exporting “a considerable number of cars” from Mexico to the US. 320,000 units in this fiscal year alone. If tariffs were to be realized, he could move production elsewhere.
“If a high tariff is imposed, we need to deal with this,” Uchida said. “And maybe we can transfer production of these models elsewhere. If this is a decision, we'll think about ways to make it a reality while monitoring the situation.”
Trump threatens to use tariffs freely on imported goods, which could lead to a widespread trade war.
He initially announced 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, but agreed to delay them after both of these countries announced additional lawsuits to secure a border with the US.
He also imposed a 10% tariff on all imports from China and urged China to announce retaliatory tariffs targeting liquefied natural gas, coal, agricultural machinery and other products from the United States.
Last Monday, Trump signed a declaration that he would strengthen all steel and aluminum imports to the United States. Mexico is one of the top exporters of steel to the US
