Ghosn Urges Trump to Articulate Auto Policy

Renault-Nissan alliance CEO Carlos Ghosn tells the Financial Times that President-elect Donald Trump should provide the auto industry with clear policies and regulations so its members can decide whether to invest more in the U.S.

“What the president-elect is saying is ‘America first,’” Ghosn says in a separate interview with Bloomberg News, adding, “We’re fine with that."

Trump has been prodding carmakers one at a time to reconsider expansion in Mexico by threatening to impose hefty import tariffs on vehicles they produce there. So far he has targeted Ford, General Motors and Toyota.

Trump hasn’t yet singled out Nissan, which Bloomberg describes as Mexico’s highest-volume carmaker. Nissan is a big shipper of cars from Mexico to the U.S. But Ghosn says the company may have avoided Trump’s attention to date because it hasn’t announced any plans for new facilities in Mexico.

Ghosn tells FT that carmakers must make pragmatic business decisions. But trade experts say that will be difficult until the Trump administration articulates a trade policy that includes rules and standards under which companies can decide when and where to invest.