Trump tariffs to remain for at least the next 3 years – Ford’s CEO

Jim Farley, CEO of Ford Motor Company, says he expects tariffs to stay in place for at least three years. The company also said that it expects to lose billions in this war. However, it has maintained a positive stance and keeps taking risks, like maintaining the price for its vehicles if not going lower.

The biggest teams in the war on tariffs are China and the US. Recently, investors have remained uncertain about their next moves. Trump has no plans to talk to Xi Jinping of China. However, he did say in a TV interview that his administration is open to lowering the high 145% tariffs it puts on Chinese goods.

On the other hand, Beijing said it looked at different ways in which US officials wanted to start talks about tariffs. This made people hopeful that the trade war between the US and China would not worsen. 

In addition, China is said to have made a list of US goods that won’t be subject to its 125% tariffs to ease trade tensions without giving in to public pressure. However, Trump supported the 145% tariffs on Chinese goods by saying that China “deserves it” and would probably pay for it. And the back and forth continues.

Still, Ford and Jim Farley will not hit rock bottom. According to Barron, the company builds 80% of its domestically sold vehicles in the US. This is why they have the leisure of maintaining their prices. Therefore, the expectation of tariffs remaining for 3 years would do the company some good as it competes with the other auto companies in the US. 

Ford suspended automotive exports to China

The automaker stopped automotive exports to China. However, it still imports vehicles like its Lincoln Nautilus from the country. Ford executives said the tariffs will add $2.5 billion to the company’s overall yearly expenses. Most of this money will go toward importing cars from Mexico and China.

Ford is suspending its 2025 guidance and expects a $2.5 billion hit from tariffs this year

CEO Jim Farley, back in February: pic.twitter.com/lpfHxE2o6y

— Morning Brew ☕️ (@MorningBrew) May 5, 2025

Executives from the company said that it has been able to cut that cost by about $1 billion by doing different things, such as using bond carriers to move cars from Mexico to Canada so that they don’t have to pay US tariffs.

Ford’s sales dropped 5% to $40.7 billion in the quarter, which was more than the $36 billion that was expected. Some figures say that Trump’s 25% tariffs on imported cars will cost US automakers more than $100 billion this year.

Earnings went up because people rushed to buy cars because they feared that tariffs would cause prices to rise. Many people were buying cars at once, and Ford was one of the companies that offered deals to get a piece of the market.

Barclays analysts wrote in a note that investors have chosen Ford over GM because 79% of Ford’s US sales are built in the US, compared to 53% of GM’s.

Ford’s EV could lose up to $5.5 billion

Ford is dealing with Trump’s taxes, but its electric cars are costing it a lot of money. The car company said that its software and electric vehicle (EV) businesses could lose up to $5.5 billion this year.

According to reports, Ford stopped an expensive project to build FNV4, a next-generation electrical design for its cars, because delays and rising costs were making it impossible to complete. When asked about the report, Farley said that the move was “a very significant save for capital efficiency.”

Ford Pro, the company’s commercial vehicle division, made $15.2 billion in sales in the first quarter, 16% less than last year. Ford’s gasoline-engine business made $21 billion in sales in the third quarter. 

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