Michigan’s auto industry—long the heart of American car manufacturing—now finds itself at the center of a high-stakes policy battle, as Governor Gretchen Whitmer presses President Donald Trump to reconsider tariffs that she and industry leaders say are putting thousands of jobs at risk. In a private Oval Office meeting on August 5, 2025, Whitmer made her case directly to the president, arguing that the very sector Trump claims to champion is being squeezed by his aggressive trade policies.
Armed with a detailed slide presentation, Whitmer sought to highlight the economic toll that tariffs are taking on Michigan’s manufacturing backbone. According to The Associated Press, she told Trump plainly that the economic damage from the tariffs could be severe in Michigan—a state that played a pivotal role in delivering him the White House in 2024. Her message was clear: Michigan auto jobs depend on a change in the administration’s approach to tariffs.
Despite her efforts, President Trump offered no specific commitments during the meeting. The lack of a clear response leaves Michigan’s auto sector—already facing economic uncertainty—waiting and wondering what comes next. The meeting, which focused on potential factory job losses and diminishing profits due to import taxes, underscores the complex dance Democratic governors like Whitmer must perform: defending their state’s interests while opposing the president’s broader agenda. As Michigan State University politics professor Matt Grossman told the AP, “Everyone’s aware that Michigan is a critical swing state and the auto industry has outsized influence, not just directly, but symbolically.”
This was Whitmer’s third White House meeting with Trump since he took office in January 2025, but it stood apart for its privacy. Unlike her earlier, more public encounters—including an impromptu news conference in April that left her red-faced—this session was a behind-the-scenes negotiation. Whitmer’s approach, Grossman noted, is markedly different from that of many other Democratic governors, who often find themselves shut out of direct talks with the administration.
At the heart of the controversy are the tariffs themselves. Under Trump’s series of executive orders and trade frameworks, U.S. automakers now face import taxes of 50% on steel and aluminum, 30% on parts from China, and a top rate of 25% on goods from Canada and Mexico not covered under the existing 2020 trade agreement. Meanwhile, German, Japanese, and South Korean vehicles—thanks to a deal Trump struck last month—face only a 15% import tax. To make matters more complicated, the president recently threatened a 100% tariff on computer chips, though he promised to exclude companies that produce chips domestically.
Whitmer’s presentation, copies of which she left with the president’s team, included hard numbers to back up her argument. Trade with Canada and Mexico, she pointed out, has driven $23.2 billion in investment to Michigan since 2020. General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis operate 50 factories across the state, while more than 4,000 facilities support the sprawling auto parts supply chain. All told, the sector supports nearly 600,000 manufacturing jobs—making it the backbone of Michigan’s economy.
But that backbone is under strain. Since Trump’s return to the White House, Michigan has lost 7,500 manufacturing jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The heads of General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis have repeatedly warned the administration that the tariffs will cut company profits and undermine their global competitiveness. Their efforts have yielded little more than a temporary, monthlong pause—a reprieve that did little to soften the financial blow. In the second quarter of 2025 alone, Ford reported $800 million in tariff-related costs, while GM said the import taxes cost it $1.1 billion. Such expenses, industry leaders say, could make it harder to reinvest in new domestic factories—a goal Trump has publicly championed.
"We expect tariffs to be a net headwind of about $2 billion this year, and we’ll continue to monitor the developments closely and engage with policymakers to ensure U.S. autoworkers and customers are not disadvantaged by policy change," Ford CEO Jim Farley said on a recent earnings call, according to The Associated Press. Smaller suppliers, too, have felt the pinch. Detroit Axle, a family-run auto parts distributor, considered shutting down a warehouse and laying off more than 100 workers, but later said it would be able to keep the facility open, at least for now. "Right now it’s a market of who is able to survive, it’s not a matter of who can thrive," owner Mike Musheinesh told the AP.
Trump, for his part, has defended his approach. White House spokesman Kush Desai said no other president “has taken a greater interest in restoring American auto industry dominance than President Trump.” Desai also highlighted trade frameworks negotiated by the administration that, he argued, would open up the Japanese, Korean, and European markets for vehicles made on Michigan assembly lines. The president himself has touted $17 trillion in investment commitments—though, as of yet, those numbers haven’t shown up in economic data.
Yet while Trump’s outreach to tech CEOs has tended to be splashy—Apple CEO Tim Cook, for example, recently presented him with a customized glass plaque and promised $600 billion in investments—his meetings with industry leaders like Whitmer have been more subdued. The stakes, however, couldn’t be higher. AP VoteCast found that Trump won Michigan in 2024 largely because two-thirds of its voters described the economic conditions as being poor or “not so good.” Roughly 70% of the voters who felt negatively about the economy backed the Republican, and the state was essentially split over whether tariffs were a positive. Trump captured 76% of voters who viewed the tariffs favorably.
Whitmer also used the meeting to raise other pressing issues, including federal support for recovery efforts after a recent ice storm and efforts to delay changes to Medicaid. But the main event was the auto industry—and the question of whether Trump’s tariffs will deliver the economic revival he’s promised, or instead, as critics fear, hasten a decline in the state’s manufacturing fortunes.
As the dust settles from this latest Oval Office showdown, one thing is clear: Michigan’s auto sector remains caught between the president’s promises and the hard realities of global trade. For the workers and companies that rely on the industry—and for the politicians whose fortunes are tied to its fate—the road ahead looks uncertain, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.
