Trump to meet big three auto leaders in Washington

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump will meet with the chiefs of the largest US automakers for the first time since taking office, following his repeated attacks on those firms for their overseas production.

The heads of General Motors, Fiat Chrysler and Ford will attend breakfast talks with Trump, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Monday in his first press briefing.

“He looks forward to hearing their ideas and how we can work together to bring more jobs back to this industry in particular,” Spicer said.

The meeting follows highly publicized goodwill overtures from US and global automakers, who have played up their efforts to create jobs and invest in the United States, after Trump publicly threatened them with stiff import duties for selling foreign-made cars on the domestic market.

Ford cancelled plans for a US$1.6 billion factory in Mexico to redirect investment to the United States; GM announced US$1 billion in US investment to create up to 5,000 jobs; and Fiat Chrysler also announced it was investing US$1 billion and creating 2,000 jobs.

Trump on Sunday repeated his pledge to renegotiate a North American Free Trade Agreement that had helped boost auto industry investment in Mexico.

Ford CEO Mark Fields met Trump on Monday, after he and Tesla co- founder Elon Musk joined other corporate leaders at a White House breakfast billed as opportunity to discuss plans for pro- growth policies.

The me e t ing inc luded corporate leaders from more than 10 industrial firms and manufacturers, such as US Steel and Lockheed Martin.