President-elect Trump threatened another lawmaker with higher taxes for building vehicles outside the United States and selling them to Americans, this time turning his ire on Toyota.
In a tweet Thursday, Trump slammed the Japanese automaker for building a plant in Mexico that could start building the Corolla in two years. No American jobs would be lost in this move as production of the Corolla would move from Canada to Mexico.
“Toyota Motor said will build a new plant in Baja, Mexico, to build Corolla cars for U.S. NO WAY! Build plant in U.S. or pay big border tax,” Trump wrote.
Toyota said in a response that it looks forward to working with Trump and his fears were unfounded.
“Toyota has been part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. for nearly 60 years. Production volume or employment in the U.S. will not decrease as a result of our new plant in Guanajuato, Mexico announced in April 2015,” the company stated. “With more than $21.9 billion direct investment in the U.S., 10 manufacturing facilities, 1,500 dealerships and 136,000 employees, Toyota looks forward to collaborating with the Trump Administration to serve in the best interests of consumers and the automotive industry.”
Toyota Motor said will build a new plant in Baja, Mexico, to build Corolla cars for U.S. NO WAY! Build plant in U.S. or pay big border tax.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2017
On Tuesday, Trump ripped General Motors for producing some Chevrolet Cruze models in Mexico and then selling them in the United States. The company pointed out the vast majority of Cruze vehicles are made in Ohio, not Mexico.
According to Reuters, Toyota announced in 2015 that it would build the $1 billion plant in Mexico that would have the ability to produce 200,000 vehicles per year. It would be the company’s first Mexican plant.
The Mississippi factory currently building parts of the Corolla would continue to be involved in the production of small cars, according to the report.
