Trump's tariff threat spurs auto suppliers to rethink production plans

LAS VEGAS, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Global auto suppliers are working out how much of their production can be moved to the United States, or closer to it, as a defense against tariffs promised by President-elect Donald Trump, according to industry executives at CES in Las Vegas.

The auto industry has already experienced eight years of U.S. protectionism, from real and threatened tariffs during Trump's first term and then more tariffs and the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act under President Joe Biden. Most of those measures were aimed squarely at China, in particular a proposal by the Biden administration to bar Chinese software and hardware from cars on U.S. roads.

But Trump has vowed to go much further, imposing a blanket tariff of 10% on global imports into the United States and a far higher 60% tariff on Chinese goods. In late November, he specifically pledged a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico when he takes office on Jan. 20.

Such high tariffs would be hard to pass on to consumers and would render many auto parts produced in lower-cost markets uneconomical, or in the case of China make it virtually impossible to sell products in the U.S.

"Anyone can do the math," Paul Thomas, North American president for Bosch (ROBG.UL), the world's largest car parts supplier, told Reuters. "If it's 10%, 20%, 60% (tariffs) ... you have to say, 'OK, how many scenarios make sense for that and which ones do we act on?'"

"We've already started on a few of those even before he (Trump) will take office."

Speaking on the sideli...
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