Trump warns he will impose heavy tariffs on Toyota.

(Baonghean) - US President-elect Donald Trump wrote on Twitter that Toyota would face heavy taxes if it assembled the Corolla model for the US market in Mexico.

Donald Trump has shown a firm stance on taxing car manufacturers that assemble vehicles outside the US. Photo: Internet.

On his personal Twitter account, Trump wrote: “Toyota says it’s going to build a new plant in Baja, Mexico, to produce Corolla cars for the U.S. market. No way. Build a plant in America or pay heavy taxes!”

Toyota isn't the only one to receive a warning from the US president-elect. A few days ago, on his personal Twitter account, Trump also threatened to impose very heavy tariffs on Chevy Cruze cars manufactured in Mexico by General Motors, America's number one automaker, and imported into the US.

Currently, major automakers are under considerable pressure from President-elect Trump, especially after another major car manufacturer, Ford, "followed" Trump's lead and halted a $1.6 billion factory project in Mexico to focus on developing its domestic electric and self-driving vehicle lineup.

On Toyota's side, the company immediately received bad news following Trump's announcement, with its stock price falling 3%, equivalent to a loss of over $1.2 billion in an instant. Although the stock price has partially recovered, the impact of Trump's statement is significant.

In response to the threat from the US president-elect, Toyota Motor Corporation quickly issued a reassuring statement, assuring that production in Guanajuato would not cost American jobs. The company's US branch reportedly stated that production and employment at Toyota's US plants would not decrease after the new plant in Mexico opens. The company has 10 plants in the US.

"Toyota looks forward to working with the new Trump administration to do everything possible to serve the best interests of consumers and the automotive industry," said Scott Vazin, a spokesperson for the company.

Since being elected President of the United States, Trump has taken a tough stance towards Mexico. In his previous campaign platform, Trump declared he would impose tariffs of up to 35% on vehicles manufactured in Mexico and then imported into the US to prevent automakers from assembling cars at lower costs than they could produce them in the US. He named several automakers that could face these high tariffs, including Ford, General Motors (GM), Honda, Toyota, and Volkswagen.

Nhat Minh

(According to BBC)