Whitmer told Trump in private that Michigan’s automatic works depend on a tariff change change

Washington (AP) – Michigan’s governor, Gretchen Whitmer, met privately at the Oval office with President Donald Trump to present a case he did not want to listen: the automotive industry that said he wants to save was being hurt by his tariffs.

The Democrat came with a slide deck to make his points in a visual presentation. On Tuesday, just receiving the meeting with the Republican President was an achievement for someone seen as a contender for the nomination of his party in the White House in 2028.

Whitmer’s strategy to deal with Trump highlights the enigma for her and other democratic leaders while trying to protect the interests of their states while expressing their opposition to their agenda. It is a dynamic that Whitmer has sailed very differently to many other democratic governors.

The fact that Whitmer had “an openness to make direct appeals” in private Trump was unique at this political moment, said Matt Grossman, a professor of politics at Michigan State University.

It was his third meeting with Trump at the White House since he took office in January. This, however, was much less public than the moment in April, when Whitmer was part of an improvised press conference that embarrassed her so much that she covered her face with a folder.

Anna Moneymaker through Getty Images

On Tuesday, he told the president that the economic damage of tariffs could be severe in Michigan, a state that helped deliver the White House in 2024. Whitmer also brought federal support for recovery efforts after an ice storm and tried to delay changes in Medicaid.

Trump did not offer specific commitments, according to people familiar with the private conversation that were not authorized to discuss it publicly and only spoke on condition of anonymity to describe it.

Whitmer is not the only one that sounds the warning of the potentially harmful consequences, including the losses of factory jobs, the lowest profits and the next price increases, of the import taxes that Trump has said will be the economic salvation for US manufacturing.

White House spokesman Kush Desai said that no other president “has had a greater interest in restoring the domain of the US automotive industry than President Trump.” The commercial frameworks negotiated by the administration would open the Japanese, Korean and European markets for vehicles made in assembly lines in Michigan, said Desai.

But the reach that Trump has preferred tends to be dotted with technology CEO. In the Oval office on Wednesday, Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, gave the president a personalized glass plate with a gold base when Cook promised $ 600 billion in investments. Trump claims to have contributed $ 17 billion in investment commitments, although none of those numbers have still arisen in economic data.

Under their series of executive orders and commercial frameworks, US car manufacturers face 50% import taxes in steel and aluminum, 30% in pieces of China and a maximum rate of 25% in goods from Canada and Mexico not covered by an existing commercial agreement of 2020. That puts manufacturers and suppliers of the United States parts at disadvantage against German vehicles, Japanese and South Koreans They face an import tax of 15% negotiated by Trump last month.

In addition to that, Trump last week threatened a 100% tariff in computer chips, which are an integral part of cars and trucks, although it would exclude companies that produce chips in the tax country.

The previous Whitmer meetings with Trump resulted in profits for Michigan. But tariffs represent a significantly broader request from a president who has imposed them even more aggressively to criticism.

The materials in the presentation brought by Whitmer to the meeting and obtained by News indicated how trade with Canada and Mexico has generated $ 23.2 billion in investments to Michigan since 2020.

General Motors, Ford and Stellantis operate 50 factories throughout the state, while more than 4,000 facilities support the auto parts supply chain. Together, the sector supports almost 600,000 manufacturing jobs, forming the backbone of Michigan’s economy.

Whitmer described the main points of the materials to Trump and left copies with his team.

For Grossman, Michigan’s professor, a key question is whether voters who expected to be helped by tariffs would react if Trump import taxes did not meet the promised economic growth.

“Everyone is aware that Michigan is a critical swing state and the automotive industry has overcome the influence, not only directly, but symbolically,” said Grossman.

The detection of AP votes discovered that Trump won Michigan in 2024 in large part because two thirds of his voters described economic conditions as poor or “not so good.” Approximately 70% of voters in the state who felt negatively on the economy supported the Republican. The state was essentially divided by whether the tariffs were positive, and Trump obtained 76% of those voters who saw them favorably.

The chiefs of General Motors, Ford and Stellantis have repeatedly warned the administration that tariffs would reduce the company’s profits and undermine their global competitiveness. Their efforts have resulted in little more than a temporary pause and a month for companies to adapt. Relief did little to mitigate financial consequences.

Only in the second quarter, Ford reported $ 800 million in costs related to the rate, while GM said that import taxes cost him $ 1.1 billion. These expenses could make it difficult to reinvest in new national factories, a goal that Trump has defended.

“We hope that the tariffs are a net wind of around $ 2 billion this year, and we will continue monitoring the developments closely and interact with the policy formulators to ensure that automatic workers and US clients are not at a disadvantage due to the change of policy,” said the Ford CEO, Jim Farley, about the gain call of their company.

Since Trump returned to the White House, Michigan has lost 7,500 manufacturing jobs, according to the Office of Labor Statistics.

Smaller suppliers have also felt tension.

Detroit Axle, a family auto parts distributor, has been one of the most vocal companies in Michigan on the impact of rates. Initially, the company announced that it could have to close a warehouse and fire more than 100 workers, but then said it could keep the facilities open, at least for now.

“At this time it is a market of who is able to survive, it is not who can prosper,” said Mike Musheinesh, owner of Detroit Axle.