So Much For Tariffs Helping US Legacy Companies

by Tanya Gazdik , July 30, 2025

Ford Motor Co. is the latest automaker to report disappointing earnings as the result of President Donald Trump’s trade policies.

Ford, which reported earnings Wednesday, said it expected tariffs to cost it a total of $2 billion this year, including the impact of cost-cutting and other measures the company is taking in response.

Ford currently projects a $3 billion gross tariff hit in 2025, up from a previous $2.5 billion estimate.

“Chief Financial Officer Sherry House said Ford raised the projection because duties on Mexico and Canada have remained higher for longer than expected,” according to Reuters.

She also cited elevated levies on aluminum and steel. CEO Jim Farley added to the doom and gloom.

“We make about 80% of our vehicles [in the U.S.], but we still import parts from all over the world, and that’s the opportunity to work with the administration. And they are very committed to supporting companies like Ford that have committed to the U.S. manufacturing base,” CEO Jim Farley told CNBC.

The automaker lost $36 million from April through June, compared with a profit of $1.8 billion a year earlier, even as sales rose 5% to $50.2 billion. Farley told Bloomberg profits will fall as much as 36% this year due to tariffs.

“Tariffs imposed by President Trump have been a recurring theme as automakers have reported earnings this month,” notes The New York Times. “General Motors, Stellantis, Tesla, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen have all cited tariffs as one of the main reasons their profits are falling.”

Tariffs trimmed $800 million from Ford profits during the second quarter, the company said.

“Ford imports just about 21% of the vehicles it sells in the US. In comparison, crosstown rival GM imports around 46%,” according to Electrek. “GM announced last week that the tariffs cost it an extra $1.1 billion in the second quarter. For the full year, GM still expects a $4 billion to $5 billion impact.”

The company’s stock dropped more than 3% during after-hours trading.

automotive, earnings, politics

3 comments about "So Much For Tariffs Helping US Legacy Companies".

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Ronald Kurtz from American Affluence Research Center, July 31, 2025 at 12:14 p.m.
It is difficult to see how tariffs (given various factors like low unemployment, missing skills, higher wages, etc.) will help create jobs by restoring certain manufacturing industries. Don't think Mr. TACO actually understands tariffs. They may be a subterfuge for a national sales or value added tax, which conservative Republicans have been trying to introduce for decades in order to lreduce income taxes. They are using Trump to achieve that and other objectives in the 2025 Plan.
Reply

Jim Meyer from Golden Square, July 31, 2025 at 1:36 p.m.

No pain, no gain. Throughout decades of trade gloabilzation, American companies had no choice but to diversify their supply chains to include producers in other countries. To not do that would have resulted in consumer prices that were higher than those for comparable goods, lower returns to investors, or both. Nobody with any sense would expect six months of tariffs to reverse economic constructs many years in the making.

And, as usual, your politics are showing.

Ronald Kurtz from American Affluence Research Center replied, August 1, 2025 at 12:53 p.m.

You are correct in the benefits (consumer prices and investor returns) that encouraged politicians and others to encourage globalization of trade despite the negative affects on labor in various industries. We need to correct our dependence on certain key products, materials, and supply chain realities. Unfortuantely, Mr. TACO has shown no understanding or plan for accomplishing realistic results.