Toyota rebukes Trump for message carmaker ‘not welcomed’

Bloomberg

Toyota Motor Corp rebuked President Donald Trump’s declaration that imported cars threaten US national security, signaling contentious talks are ahead for the White House and America’s key trading partners.
In an unusually strong-worded statement, Japan’s largest automaker said Trump’s proclamation that the US needs to defend itself against foreign cars and components “sends a message to Toyota that our investments are not welcomed.”
The company said it has spent more than $60 billion building operations in the country, including 10 manufacturing plants.
Trump earlier agreed with the conclusions of his Commerce Department, which investigated imports of vehicles and auto parts and found they harm national security by having led to a declining market share for “American-owned” carmakers since the 1980s. The White House set a 180-day deadline for negotiating deals with Japan, the European Union and other major auto exporters.
Toyota said it remains hopeful that those talks can be resolved quickly, but warned that curbing imports would force US consumers to pay more and be counterproductive for jobs and the economy.
The company’s critique comes two months after its pledge to add $3 billion to a years-long US investment plan.
Representatives for other automakers were more diplomatic but also registered concern about the Trump administration’s saber-rattling.