There was a time, about 20 years ago, when I was a young reporter covering auto suppliers and I was frantically calling companies trying to find one that would talk on the record about whatever the highest profile political issue was at the time.
Surprise! Nobody, or almost nobody, was willing to talk on the record. Sure, some companies provided a short, written statement. And some savvy PR professionals who I had begun to build relationships with took pity on me and provided a little bit of context on background that was helpful.
But for the most part, I was told to call industry legends like Neil DeKoker at OESA and Dave Cole at CAR and was told they spoke for the collective auto industry. So, I learned to get what I could from industry associations while also scouring quarterly earnings calls for opaque but telling financial details.
At the time, I found the situation to be frustrating – and not just because I could not get honest and transparent answers from the companies I was dealing with. I believed then, as I do now, that the industry puts itself at a collective disadvantage in Washington by failing to advocate more loudly and boldly for itself.
In 2016, when Donald Trump was running for office for the first time, he was regularly criticizing automakers – especially Ford – for producing vehicles in Mexico as he vowed to scrap the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Ford was reluctant to respond, at first, with much more than a written statement, but eventually relented.
I remember when Ford CEO Mark Fields went on CNN to talk to Poppy Harlow and provide the company’s perspective. Fields explained why Ford produces some vehicles in Mexico while emphasizing the company’s commitment to the U.S. His appearance on CNN seemed to slow down, but not stop, Trump’s criticism of the company’s Mexico production.
Flash forward to today and the hottest political and policy issue facing the auto industry is tariffs. Tariffs, more than any other issue, are dominating the automotive industry’s news cycle.
A half dozen or so reporters who I’ve spoken with in recent weeks have expressed a mixture of frustration, exhaustion and gallows humor about the frantic tariff news cycle and how it has consumed their work life.
Among their frustrations: Their inability to convince companies to talk in detail and on the record about tariffs.
At Franco, we have several clients who are closely watching the Trump Administration’s rapidly changing tariffs. Almost all our automotive clients are closely monitoring the news about tariffs while also staying in close contact with their government affairs staff and other industry contacts.
Many of our clients have also spent time developing media holding statements in case media calls and asks for their position while other clients who have committed to media interviews on other topics have spent time carefully thinking through what they intend to say when the inevitable questions about tariffs come up. Still others have delayed media outreach efforts knowing almost any media interview right now would include questions about tariffs.
Today, the voices automotive suppliers and automakers are leaning on to talk about the potential impact of tariffs include: Glenn Stevens at MichAuto; John Bozzella, President of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation; the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) and a handful of well-connected analysts, such as Stephanie Brinley at S&P Global Mobility and a recent webinar hosted by Anderson Economic Group.
On March 5, Glenn Stevens from MichAuto said:
“While another postponement of the White House’s proposed tariffs on automotive-related trade between the U.S. and Canada and Mexico is somewhat of a reprieve for the industry, damage has already been done. For an industry that operates in three-to-five-year product cycles, this level of day-to-day uncertainty is debilitating.
MichAuto will advocate for all of the proposed tariffs, across industries, to be rolled back in the interest of the state and nation’s economic prosperity. With Michigan’s global automotive and economic competitiveness on the line, lifting these tariffs is the necessary path forward.”
MEMA recently released the results of a supplier survey about tariffs, which showed that 78% of suppliers do not have excess available capacity in the U.S. to domestically manufacture parts currently sourced through global supply chains.
“As an industry, we recognize the importance of strong domestic supply chains,” MEMA President and CEO Bill Long said in a press release. “At the same time, it is essential that trade policies allow suppliers to remain competitive in a global market.”
Organizations like MichAuto and MEMA help to take the heat off individual companies when they talk to the media. The problem is general statements that summarize the industry’s viewpoint will always fail to convey the vivid details and real-world toll that is often necessary to help the public understand the gravity of the impact of tariffs.
That is why reporters rightfully want to know what companies are doing to prepare for or adjust to tariffs, whether companies are considering changes to their manufacturing footprint and whether job cuts are being considered.
My message to journalists is this: Many of the executives at the companies you cover are rooting for you – they want you to explain to the world how the industry’s integrated global supply chain in North America works and how interconnected the auto industry is in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. They are hoping and praying your stories are read and heard in Washington.
However, the problem we PR professionals face along with our clients is NOBODY wants to be the one company in the spotlight for fear of being cast as a critic of the president and his administration.
I know this is frustrating for the media and I wish I could change it. But this is the way things have been for decades in the auto industry, and I doubt it will change anytime soon.
Brent Snavely is Vice President of Media Relations at Franco. Connect with him on LinkedIn.
