By The Tribune Content Agency
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s tariffs on most goods from China, even if rates remain at a stratospheric 145%, will not fundamentally change the U.S. auto supply chain’s dependence on the rival nation, industry experts say.
“I’m sure you could figure out how to make a relatively low-volume car, maybe a very simple car without China,” said Dan Hearsch, Americas leader of the automotive and industrial practice at consulting firm AlixPartners LLP. “But why bother? Why would you? It would not be commercially viable.”
China has been an ascendant automotive powerhouse for decades, beginning with a 1994 government plan for suppliers to “reach economic scale.” Since then, it has become a leading source for auto parts, raw materials, critical new battery technologies and machines that enable downstream manufacturing by the world’s biggest car and truck brands.
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