• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'

2

Current price of oil as of June 22, 2026

3

NBC’s Tom Llamas climbed from 15-year-old intern to the top anchor chair—and still isn’t satisfied: ‘If you're not growing, you're dying'

1

Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'

2

Current price of oil as of June 22, 2026

3

NBC’s Tom Llamas climbed from 15-year-old intern to the top anchor chair—and still isn’t satisfied: ‘If you're not growing, you're dying'
Ford Motor

Ford CEO: Trump’s Policies Played a Part in Our Decision Making

By
Kirsten Korosec
Kirsten Korosec
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Kirsten Korosec
Kirsten Korosec
Down Arrow Button Icon
January 4, 2017, 6:23 PM ET
Photograph by Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

The shadow of president-elect Donald Trump seemed to loom over Ford’s decision to scrap plans for a $1.6 billion factory in Mexico and instead invest $700 million in a Michigan assembly plant to build autonomous and electric vehicles.

Why else would Ford make such a sudden about-face? Surely, Trump, who singled out Ford numerous times during his campaign as a symbol of outsourcing and the decline of manufacturing, was the catalyst—the influencer who steered Ford into a new direction.

The explanation, of course, isn’t nearly as neat or accurate.

Exactly one year ago—at a Fortune Brainstorm Tech dinner—Ford CEO Mark Fields was steadfast in the company’s strategy, which includes producing vehicles with lower profit margins in Mexico where labor costs are lower. And that hasn’t changed.

But the market has, Fields told Fortune after the announcement.

“It’s very simple,” Fields said explaining the decision behind the plant cancellation. “We’ve seen the market demand drop for small cars. Every year, we look at industry, segmentation changes and then we compare that to our capacity needs. And it was very clear as we were going through the year that we didn’t need the capacity.”

Fields stressed that market conditions have changed dramatically in the past.

“Even in the last six or eight months, if you look at how the segmentation has changed from cars to trucks and SUVs it’s been pretty dramatic; pretty unprecedented,” he said. “Our views have changed because we’re nine months, a year later, and the market has moved. Any business needs to make sure they’re looking at the business environment and not so hand-cuffed to previous decisions so you end up waking up two years omigosh what did we do?”

Ford wanted to produce the Focus in Mexico to improve profitability, Fields said. And the Focus is staying in Mexico. Those jobs are not returning to the U.S. Ford is moving production of the next-generation compact Focus car to an existing facility in Hermosillo, Mexico.

That move allows Ford to invest money somewhere else. It was here—in the company’s decision to invest that money in the U.S.—where Trump’s tax proposals did have an influence Fields admitted to Fortune. It was not because of his rhetoric about penalizing U.S. companies that move operations to Mexico and other foreign countries, Fields said. Trump had promised to slap a 35% tax on cars, trucks, and parts that Ford makes in Mexico and ships into the United States.

Ford says it will invest about $700 million into its Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Michigan to build an all-new fully electric small SUV and a high-volume autonomous hybrid vehicle designed for commercial ride hailing or ride sharing. In all, the company outlined plans for seven electrified vehicles, including a hybrid version of its best-selling F-150 pickup that will be available by 2020 and sold in North America and the Middle East. Ford also plans to build a hybrid version of the Mustang built at the Flat Rock Plant. The hybrid Mustang will debut in 2020 and will be available in the North America to start, Ford says.

“As you can imagine, we look at a lot of different factors and one is that we feel it’s going to be a positive business environment under President-elect Trump, particularly for manufacturing,” Fields said. “We are confident that he’s going to be able to deliver on that and that does play a part. It did play a part in those decisions.”

Trump’s proposal to reform the corporate tax policy was the single biggest factor that influenced Ford’s decision to invest in Flat Rock, Fields said.

“He’s made it very clear there will be tax reform and that could be very beneficial to us as well as the things he’s been talking about around infrastructure investment,” he said. “Overall, I think bringing down the corporate tax rates is obviously extremely important because we have the highest tax rate in the world. Tax holidays to bring back cash, that’s not really an impact to us because literally 80 to 85% of our cash is here in the U.S.”

Another promising policy for Ford is the border adjusted tax, a proposal floated by House Republicans. The border adjusted tax proposal would change the entire system for how U.S. companies are incentivized or taxes on their imported and exported goods. Under the proposal, companies wouldn’t be able to deduct the cost of their imported goods, removing one incentive to move operations outside the U.S. In addition, a U.S. company’s exports would not be subject to U.S. tax.

“We’ll have to see what this border adjustability tax looks like,” Fields said. “The good news for us: We’re the largest manufacturer of automotive vehicles in the U.S. and we’re one of the biggest exporters.”

About 80% of Ford’s sales in the U.S. come from vehicles that are produced in the U.S. and less than 15% come from Mexico.

About the Author
By Kirsten Korosec
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in

uk
EconomyUnited Kingdom
Meet a British businessman who doesn’t regret his Brexit vote. He says rejoining the EU would be ‘re-boarding the Titanic’ while giving up life vests
By Danica Kirka and The Associated PressJune 22, 2026
7 hours ago
toy
Arts & EntertainmentBox office
A $1 million horror film and a 30-year-old franchise are saving Hollywood’s summer
By Jake Coyle and The Associated PressJune 22, 2026
7 hours ago
heat
Environmentclimate change
Planet’s heat bill comes due as one billion more people face extreme heat stress than in the 1970s
By Alexa St. John and The Associated PressJune 22, 2026
7 hours ago
duck
North AmericaMexico
Mexico City’s unofficial duck soccer mascot stole the presidential press briefing
By The Associated PressJune 22, 2026
7 hours ago
Insilico Medicine, SK Biopharmaceuticals strike $2.5B AI drug discovery deal targeting neuroimmune therapies
AsiaPharmaceutical Industry
Insilico Medicine, SK Biopharmaceuticals strike $2.5B AI drug discovery deal targeting neuroimmune therapies
By Nicholas GordonJune 22, 2026
8 hours ago
Steve Jobs became a billionaire thanks to a Pixar gamble. Now ‘Toy Story 5’ is breaking box office records thanks to that bet
Arts & EntertainmentSteve Jobs
Steve Jobs became a billionaire thanks to a Pixar gamble. Now ‘Toy Story 5’ is breaking box office records thanks to that bet
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJune 22, 2026
8 hours ago

Most Popular

Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'
Success
Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'
By Sydney LakeJune 21, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of June 22, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 22, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 22, 2026
16 hours ago
NBC’s Tom Llamas climbed from 15-year-old intern to the top anchor chair—and still isn’t satisfied: ‘If you're not growing, you're dying'
Success
NBC’s Tom Llamas climbed from 15-year-old intern to the top anchor chair—and still isn’t satisfied: ‘If you're not growing, you're dying'
By Preston ForeJune 21, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of silver as of Monday, June 22, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Monday, June 22, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 22, 2026
16 hours ago
The man who lived through the fall of the Soviet Union and helped wealthy Chinese move to Canada sees a familiar picture in America
Success
The man who lived through the fall of the Soviet Union and helped wealthy Chinese move to Canada sees a familiar picture in America
By Nick LichtenbergJune 17, 2026
6 days ago
The Fed is fed up with inflation and will bring down the hammer with a series of rate hikes this year, reversing earlier cuts, BofA says
Economy
The Fed is fed up with inflation and will bring down the hammer with a series of rate hikes this year, reversing earlier cuts, BofA says
By Jason MaJune 22, 2026
13 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.