CNBC anchor Joe Kernen interviewed President Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, asking the former hedge fund manager about how President Donald Trump’s tariffs are affecting the automotive industry.
Kernen phrased his Bessent questions with deference, while cleraly citing the tariff impact so far: “Some of the unintended, maybe, consequences of the tariffs; Ford hasn’t lost money in a quarter since 2023. They make almost all of their cars here. Now they’re doing, I think they’re trying the best they can to have U.S.-made vehicles but they still import some parts. As a result, $800 million in tariffs have pushed them into, wiped out the profit entirely.”
Kernen asked: “Are there still carveouts available, if a company like Ford comes to you, and says, ‘Look, this is how this affected us,’ or comes to the President. This is a direct consequence of what’s happening. That’s not what was intended with the tariffs, was it? And it’s not what we want, I don’t think, to cause Ford to report a loss even though they’re trying their best to make all of their cars here.”
BREAKING: CNBC Anchor and MAGA supporter Joe Kernen just broke the news to Scott Bessent that Ford lost money last quarter due to Trump’s tariffs. Donald Trump’s economy is destroying American manufacturing. This is terrible. pic.twitter.com/ob8STocAJU
— Democratic Wins Media (@DemocraticWins) July 31, 2025
Bessent said, “I admire Ford, I believe it has the highest production, U.S. production of any auto manufacturer. I think that there are numerous circumstances with Ford. I believe that the Ford F-150, 250, you know, their big truck series is made out of aluminum instead of steel, which is different than other cars, so I think maybe the aluminum tariffs have hit them harder.”
Note: The body of Ford’s F-150 is made of military-grade Canadian aluminum manufactured in Quebec. Ford was the first to introduce an all-aluminum body on a full-size pickup truck, with the redesigned F-150 in 2015. Ford switched to an aluminum body primarily “to reduce weight, improve fuel efficiency, and enhance performance. The lighter weight allows for better acceleration, towing capacity, and payload, while also increasing fuel economy.”]
Bessent told Kernen, “We will be negotiating with Canada on those, so, I think with Ford it’s probably been idiosyncratic.”
On Friday, August 1, Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney released a statement (below) after Trump signed an executive order to increase tariffs on Canadian goods to 35 per cent, excepting those covered in the USMCA (aka “new NAFTA”) signed during Trump’s first term.
My statement on Canada-U.S. trade: pic.twitter.com/0PSG9kKtiO
— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) August 1, 2025
Carney voiced disappointment with U.S. decision and noted that the Trump administration has “justified its most recent trade action on the basis of the cross-border flow of fentanyl, despite the fact that Canada accounts for only 1% of U.S. fentanyl imports and has been working intensively to further reduce these volumes.”
Note: For 42 consecutive years, from 1981 to 2023, the Ford F-150 was the bestselling vehicle of any kind in the United States. In 2024, Toyota’s RAV4 took the title.
