Would Import Tariffs On Steel & Aluminum Make Chevy Silverados More Expensive? GM's CEO Says "No"

Gorehamj · March 8, 2018

John Goreham
Contributing Writer, GM-Trucks.com
3-8-2018

Earlier this week GM-Trucks.com reported that the bean counters at Goldman Sachs had estimated import tariffs on steel and aluminum could cost GM $1billion in profits. Maybe they were wrong? In an interview this week, GM's CEO Marry Barra was asked specifically about the top-selling General Motors vehicle, the Silverado. The host asked, "Have you done any studies? Would it jump the price of a GM Silverado by $100? Is there a way to gauge?" Ms. Barra's answer was interesting. She said, "It's a small impact. We would look to find offsets and efficiencies in other places to not have to pass that on to the customer." Although that was good news for Silverado buyers, what Barra said earlier in the interview was a bit of a surprise, given the media's coverage of the tariff issue. When asked if she thought there would be tariffs on imported steel and what it would mean for the price of a General Motors car, Barra said, "We source about 90% of our steel and the majority of our aluminum from the United States. So when I look at the specific impact from that perspective I think it something we can more than offset. "

Barra did go on to say that if there is a change that drives the cost up it will have a direct effect on demand. For part one of our coverage regarding why GM and other automakers are staying silent on tariffs, please check out our prior story.

diyer2 · March 8, 2018

What else did you expect her to say.

We will never know IMO.

crafferty · March 8, 2018

Why do we need to import steel? We have multi million dollar steel plants closing all over this beautiful country. Lets get these steel workers employed again!

Logan Lanfear · March 12, 2018

On 3/8/2018 at 5:37 PM, crafferty said:

Why do we need to import steel? We have multi million dollar steel plants closing all over this beautiful country. Lets get these steel workers employed again!

Capitalism, that's why. As sad as it is.

TyGriff13 · March 18, 2018

I happen to work for a very large steel manufacturer in the US, GM is a big client and I can tell you these tariffs do not affect vehicles that are manufactured in the US. The tariffs, as I am sure y'all know, are being placed on steel that is being government subsidized and brought into the states and then being sold for pennies on the dollar and truly create a market that is detrimental to all steel companies based in the US. God Bless the USA, Trump, and American made STEEL!

Rob Okray · March 19, 2018

I weld for a hobby and don't care if I have pay a buck or two more for a stick of angle iron. Crap steel is no fun to work with.

Nargg · March 20, 2018

"We would look to find offsets and efficiencies in other places " Great, that only means cheaper and less quality in other areas. sigh.

Nargg · March 20, 2018

On ‎3‎/‎18‎/‎2018 at 5:46 PM, TyGriff13 said:

I happen to work for a very large steel manufacturer in the US, GM is a big client and I can tell you these tariffs do not affect vehicles that are manufactured in the US. The tariffs, as I am sure y'all know, are being placed on steel that is being government subsidized and brought into the states and then being sold for pennies on the dollar and truly create a market that is detrimental to all steel companies based in the US. God Bless the USA, Trump, and American made STEEL!

I wouldn't believe everything they tell you...