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Trump's tariffs are wrecking this key industry [1]
['Daily Kos Staff']
Date: 2025-07-22
Two of the largest automakers, which each employ thousands in the U.S., are saying that President Donald Trump’s tariff policies have lost them billions in profits in the first half of 2025. The news highlights ongoing economic problems caused by Trump’s tariffs, despite the improving economy that Trump inherited.
General Motors said on Tuesday that it had lost $1 billion in the second quarter of 2025, compared with its profits at the same time last year. A year ago, when Joe Biden was in the White House, GM had profits of $2.9 billion, but this year, under Trump, that was down to $1.9 billion. The company also saw a 2% drop in sales this year.
Stellantis, which oversees brands like Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge, reported similar bad news on Monday. In an announcement that shocked Wall Street, the company said it estimated that it would experience a net loss of nearly $2.7 billion in the first half of 2025. The company attributed much of the problem to the early effects of Trump’s tariffs.
President Donald Trump proudly announces his new economy-wrecking tariffs at the White House on April 2, only to heavily—but not fully—walk them back days later.
Following Trump’s April announcement of his “Liberation Day” tariffs on nearly all countries, his administration claimed that it would swiftly close new trade deals and that the tariffs would not hurt the economy. That hasn’t happened.
Instead, the administration has promised over and over that deals are coming, with little to show for it. In fact, as GM was relaying the bad news on Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business, “We’re about to announce a rash of trade deals in the coming days.”
Bessent also said the administration’s deadline for negotiating tariffs with China would once again be extended, since that nation has largely refused to bend to Trump’s demands.
Trump has continued to push his tariff-based economic policies despite their harm to the global economy. In recent days, he has floated additional tariffs on the European Union and Mexico, which are expected to lead to increased prices for consumer goods for Americans.
But the public doesn’t believe his policies will work. In an April poll by Gallup, 70% of Americans said the tariffs will cost Americans more money than the tariffs will bring in from foreign sources. An overwhelming majority of independents (74%) and Democrats (96%) expressed skepticism about Trump’s actions. But even 36% of Republicans think his policies are primed to fail.
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In addition to the hit on automakers, other businesses are shutting their doors under the weight of tariffs, including Howard Miller, a 100-year-old furniture manufacturing business in western Michigan—a state Trump won in the 2024 presidential election. When they’re not going under, businesses like Amazon are instead passing on the price hikes caused by tariffs on to the consumer.
Meanwhile, a recent report by congressional Democrats revealed that China has benefitted from the chaos, swooping in to sign economic agreements while America has walked away from global commerce and erected new trade barriers.
Trump inherited an economy in recovery, after Biden put in place policies to respond to Trump’s mismanagement of affairs during the COVID-19 outbreak and his first presidential administration. Now that recovery is going in reverse because of Trump’s tariff obsession.
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