Ford CEO Jim Farley says Trump’s tariffs added lot of cost & chaos

Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Officer Jim Farley said on Tuesday US President Donald Trump's proposed and implemented tariffs have added "a lot of cost and a lot of chaos."

He will travel to Washington on Wednesday to warn the Congress members that the 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico would “blow a hole” in the US auto industry.

However, Farley said he believes President Donald Trump aims to strengthen the American auto industry overall.

The automaker is considering areas in which it can build up inventory to prepare for potential 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, executives said at an analyst conference Tuesday, according to news agency Reuters report.

Speaking at a Wolfe Research automotive conference in New York, the CEO said the impact of the tariffs, which Trump delayed for a month last week, would be “devastating” for American automakers. They would also provide a “windfall” to Asian and European rivals that wouldn’t face similar levies on cars they import from their home regions, he added.

“President Trump has talked a lot about making our US auto industry stronger, bringing more production here,” Farley said. “So far, what we’re seeing is a lot of cost, a lot of chaos.”

Ford is not significantly exposed to increased tariffs on steel and aluminum. It gets most of these materials from the US, executives said, as per the Reuters report.

Inflation Reduction Act

Farley will also warn against dismantling former President Joe Biden’s signature environmental legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act, which gave federal subsidies to build electric vehicle and battery plants in the US.

The company is investing billions to build EV and battery factories in Tennessee, Ohio, Michigan and Kentucky.

“We’ve already sunk capital,” Farley said. “Many of those jobs will be at risk if the IRA is repealed, big parts of it repealed.”

Ford shares were down 0.4% in morning trading on Tuesday.