Governor Gretchen Whitmer spent Wednesday in Washington D.C. to deliver an address where she warned about the dangers of sweeping tariffs before heading to the White House for a meeting with President Donald Trump.
At an event held a couple of blocks from the White House, Whitmer – in a speech billed “Build, America, Build” -- warned that tariffs are a tax that are passed along to consumers and would have sweeping affects across the economy.
Whitmer said Trump’s unilateral tariff orders would pose a particular threat to manufacturing states like Michigan that rely heavily on border-crossing supply chains.
“You can’t just pull out the tariff hammer to swing at every problem without a clear, defined end goal,” she said. “We cannot underestimate or under-appreciate the time and capital it’s going to take to actually bring jobs and supply chains back home. So, there’s not a shortcut here.”
Whitmer also spoke about the need for cooperation in a sit-down with television journalist Gretchen Carlson.
Not long after that, Whitmer was at the White House for an Oval Office meeting with Trump and Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township). There was none of the trash-talking reminiscent of the first Trump term when she described him as a threat to democracy and he famously called her “that woman from Michigan.”
In fact, Trump said the Democratic governor who’s often mentioned as a prospective presidential candidate has done an “excellent job.” Trump also paused some of the tariffs he had just ordered.
But Glenn Stevens Jr., the executive director of the Detroit Regional Chamber’s MichAuto, said the tariffs eased by Trump won’t provide much relief to Michigan’s automotive sector.
“The tariffs that are affecting our industry directly, and that is a stack-up of tariffs – the Canada-Mexico tariffs, the steel and aluminum tariffs, the imported vehicle and imported component tariffs – those are all still in place,” Stevens told Michigan Public Radio. “So, we’re still in the situation that we were.”
A Whitmer spokesperson called the pause “a step in the right direction” that “will provide relief to so many businesses across the state.” Still, the aide said. “we remain concerned about tariffs that will hurt American auto companies.”
