Memo To Trump: Blame Obama, Not Ford, For Small Car Shift To Mexico

Industrial Policy: Donald Trump has been bashing Ford for deciding to shift small car production to Mexico. He's pointing the finger of blame at the wrong target. A big driver behind Ford's move is President Obama's push for tougher federal fuel mandates.

Ford recently announced that it plans to shift all its 

small car production to Mexico. The reason might 

surprise you. (AP)

Earlier this year, Ford (F) announced that it was building a major small-car assembly plant south of the border, and more recently said it was going to shift all its small car production to Mexico within a few years.

Trump has called it an "absolute disgrace" and says he'd hit Ford with a 35% import tax on these Mexican-built cars.

For its part, Ford claims that there won't be any loss of jobs, since the U.S. plants making small cars will start making bigger cars. But the simple truth is that the new jobs that will come with Ford's new small-car plant won't be domestic. That's still a loss of jobs.

Whatever you think of Ford's decision, one largely overlooked factor behind it is Obama's push for more stringent federal fuel economy standards.

Read the rest of this IBD editorial HERE.

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