The President: Thank you.
It's really wonderful to be here today with
the auto industry workers and management leaders.
I'm also pleased to be joined by two incredible
members of my cabinet.
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and Environmental
Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt.
They've been doing an amazing job.
They've done a lot of work in a very short period of time.
We're looking forward to getting the rest of our
Cabinet approved because believe it or not,
we don't have it yet.
I also want to thank Senator.
Senator, we have two great Senators from a great state.
Senator Steve, we're going to be heading out there
very soon, right Bob?
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Appreciate you being here.
You want to take some of this business back
with you I think.
They're doing big expansions in Michigan.
That's what I've been promising and I guess
maybe it's one of the reasons I won the state
of Michigan, much to the surprise of a lot of people
because it's been many, many years.
But I also want to thank Mary Barra, on my right,
who has really been spearheading it
and doing a great job with General Motors.
We're going to create 900 brand new jobs,
it was just announced.
And that's going to be peanuts compared to the kind
of numbers we're going to be seeing in the near future.
I believe Mary's going to get on board and really
build new plants in Michigan and the United
States and it's going to be thousands and thousands
of workers.
And I want to thank you very much because you
really have been spearheading.
My first week in office, some of the executives
came to the White House, became friendly with Mark
-- where's Mark?
Where is Mark sitting?
And Bill -- Bill Ford, and it's been really great
Mark, and I appreciate everything you're doing.
It's been just super.
Sergio flew in from Europe.
He told me it took him 12 hours.
I said, "What kind of a plane were you flying?"
(laughter)
Where is Sergio?
There he is.
But you've been doing great and you make a great
product and I appreciate it.
Especially, when you make them in the United States.
So, thank you.
So, the Obama administration 11th hour
executive actions were going back -- and they
really did go back on a promise and it would have,
I think, destroyed or further destroyed
the automobile industry.
The prior administration promised to listen
to industry leaders like you about any concern you had
with the current fuel efficiency standards
during a so-called mid-term review
in 2016 and 2018.
Then the days went by and before my inauguration,
they did away with a mid-term review.
Is that a correct statement, Mary?
You don't want to get too involved politically,
but is that a correct statement?
Mary Barra: That's correct.
The President: They did away with it.
Can I ask you, Mark, is that a correct statement?
Mark Fields: Yeah, they finalized it.
The President: It never happened.
Were you -- we want to use the nice term --
were you mis-represented too?
Mark Fields: It wasn't according to the process.
Mary Barra: Right.
The President: Imposing painful new restrictions
on the American automobile production lines
and undermining our ability to compete with other
countries and other places throughout the world,
which are very, very competitive, believe me.
Especially when it comes to making cars.
Today, I'm here to make right on what you were promised.
We are reinstituting the mid-term review.
We're going to reinstitute that review and we're
giving you a voice in the process.
We're going to do some wonderful work for you,
but you have to come back and you have to give us
big numbers in terms of jobs.
And I know the unions are going to treat them very
nicely because, Dennis, we can't go crazy here.
You understand that, okay?
We got to take it nice and easy.
We love the workers.
We got to take it nice and easy.
We got to let them build.
Remember that, Dennis.
I know you so well.
So, I know you're competitors and you'll
always be competitors, but we're all on the same side.
The most important issue -- this is to me the most
important issue -- and that's keeping jobs
in America and creating new jobs in the United States.
That's why I'm here today.
We're going to create new jobs.
Many, many new jobs, new plants, not just
an expansion of the plants.
New plants.
Modern plants like you've been building in Mexico.
Like you've been building in other locations.
We want to have new plants built in Michigan and new
plants built in Ohio and new plants in Pennsylvania
and North Carolina and so many other places.
And that's what we're looking for.
So, we're going to go all out.
We're lowering your taxes.
We're going to remove one job killing regulation
after another.
The regulations have already made a big impact
on the auto business and on most other businesses.
And we're far from being finished.
We've signed many executive orders reducing regulations.
We are far from finished.
We think we can get rid of about 75 percent
of the regulations in many cases and have more security
for the worker, for the environment, and in safety
because safety is so important.
So, we'll have better security.
And that's why I'm very glad that my head
of the Environmental Protection is here, Scott,
wherever you are, Scott.
So -- hello Scott.
So, this is going to be a new era for American jobs
and job creation and a new era -- almost like
the beginning for the American automobile manufacturers.
We're going to make thousands and thousands
and thousands of additional cars.
We're going to make them in the United States.
We're going to work with you on regulations.
We're going to work with you on taxes.
But you've got to work with us on new plants,
on new jobs, and bringing back our country
to a level that it's never seen before in terms
of automobile production.
And if you're going to do that, you're going to see
some really wonderful things happen for yourselves,
your industry, and for most importantly, the people
of Michigan and Ohio and all of the states
that were so good to me.
And they were good to me because they were treated
very, very unfairly.
And so, I'm just here today to begin the process.
And with that, if anybody has any questions,
we'd love to take them.
Go ahead.
Anybody?
Dennis, do you want to ask something?
It's always tough when I have the union guy ask first.
That's always dangerous, Mark.
But that's okay.
Go ahead, Dennis.
Dennis Williams: Well, I just -- you know, I appreciate
everything you said.
I think that the focus on jobs in the United States
is so important to us as a country and as working men
and women in this country.
And it's not just jobs, but it's good paying jobs
and jobs that we can buy homes and vehicles that
we build and everything else.
But I do get concerned about environmental
standards and I agree with you that the 2018
discussion that we had in -- I think it was in 2012.
We had a discussion, but we have to have a mid-term review.
Because the way that we look at it, is that
we have to deal with the environment.
We have to do it in a responsible way where
manufacturers are not put in a situation that they
cannot invest.
But at the same time, meet the environmental
needs of our nation.
So that's a concern.
The President: 100 percent we agree with you.
We all agree with you 100 percent.
But we want you to make great cars and if it takes
an extra thimble full of fuel, we don't want that
to stop making it.
And sometimes it's a tiny amount of fuel.
It's a very small thing we're talking about and we
want you to make -- I understand your business very well.
I understand mechanics very well.
I was always -- I would have been a very good --
I would have been a very good shop steward,
but I would have been a good mechanic.
And, you know, there comes a point at which you are
not making great product anymore.
It comes a point at which I would even say people
end up buying used cars because they work better
because of restrictions that are put on your new product.
And we don't want to be at that position.
And you are being forced into a position, where
in my opinion, that was going to happen.
So, we're going to open it up and we're going to make
it good in terms of your workers, which, you know,
years ago, you had thousands and thousands
of more workers making automobiles in this
country than you do today.
And this isn't just machinery and robotics,
this is, you know, the basics.
And we're going to change that.
And we want robotics.
We want all of that to happen.
Going to make that too, by the way.
But when I looked at the numbers I saw thousands --
tens of thousands of more workers many years ago,
than you have today and we're going to bring that all back.
We're going to bring it back for the worker.
Thank you.
Thank you, Dennis.
Mark Fields: Mr. President, you know,
on any given day, we're all fierce competitors
and I think the reason you have 18 OEMs of car makers
sitting around here is because under your
leadership to be able to put this mid-term review
back on -- back on track, which was what we agreed
to back in 2011.
The President: Well, you weren't treated fairly.
Because I went to many people and I'm talking
to people that are down the middle.
They don't care about anything.
They just want a certain fairness and they were involved.
Mark Fields: Exactly.
The President: And you were not treated.
You were misrepresented.
Mark Fields: And I think to your point, I just want
to make clear that what we've asked for and what
you've responded to is to reinstate the review.
It's not a rejection of what we agreed to.
It's a process.
And so, we really appreciate your leadership
and as always, we want to -- we're absolutely,
you know, committed to improving fuel economy
for our customers, you know, less greenhouse gases,
that's safe for the environment.
But we need to make sure that it's done sensibly
to your point in taking into account jobs.
The President: Right.
Right.
Thank you.
Thank you, Mark, very much.
Good job too.
Mary?
Mary Barra: Yeah, I would say -- echo the comments.
I think by opening up the mid-term review we can
look at all the development in technologies that have been
developed in the last five years and the way the industry
is changing not only with ridesharing, with higher use
-- so we can actually accomplish and do the right thing
for the environment, do it more effectively that supports
jobs and supports new technology.
So, I think it is very beneficial that we have
this discussion, and, you know, find the pathway
to do the right thing.
And I think we can.
The President: And you have to compete with other
countries too and we're going to make you
so competitive that the only ones you can blame are
going to be yourselves.
You're not going to blame government anymore because
you're not doing well against certain countries.
You know, I'm so impressed with the people.
I'm looking at Toyota, I'm looking at Kia,
I'm looking at all these great car companies -- Volvo.
It's so impressive.
Then I look at Reince.
I'm only kidding.
(laughter)
You should run a car company.
You probably will end up doing that in a long time,
but maybe not.
I don't know.
He's done a great job, Reince.
But I thought we could go around the table and we
could start with our great Senator Bob Corker
and just introduce yourself real quickly and we'll all
know who's here.
Bob Corker: Yes sir, Bob Corker, Tennessee.
I'm glad to be with you.
The President: Thank you.
Bob Corker: And I know that the automobile
industry plays such a huge role in our nation and I'm
glad to see it flourishing here as it is in many places
across the country and honored to be with all of you.
Thank you.
The President: Thank you for being here, Bob.
David Geanacopoulos: Thank you, Mr. President.
I'm David Geanacopoulos with Volkswagen Group of America.
I'd like to thank you and Secretary Chao and
Administrator Pruitt for reopening the mid-term review.
We think there's a real opportunity for
harmonization of standards.
We do think it's important to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions and protect the environment, but this
process is important by itself and there is some
opportunities there for flexibilities that can
help us to comply and achieve the benefits.
I also want to say that we're proud to be
in Tennessee and to be represented by Senator Corker
and Senator Alexander through our factory in Chattanooga.
We've got 7,000 employees there -- in the country --
and 3,500 there.
And we'd like to grow our presence in the U.S.
and we look forward to working with you.
The President: Thank you very much.
David Geanacopoulos: Thank you.
The President: It'll be a very fair review too.
Thank you.
Yes, sir.
Bob Kaiser: Good afternoon, Mr. President.
I'm Bob Kaiser.
I'm the CEO of Gallagher-Kaiser.
We engineer and manufacture the paint shops.
I'm a strategic supplier of General Motors.
Because of General Motors spend in the United States
in the last four of five years, I have been able
to employ approximately
4,000-5,000 people at any given time.
And I thank you for everything you're doing
for the automobile industry.
I've been in Detroit my whole life.
I've seen the ups and downs and I think the
nation is much better when the cars are cut -- when
the industry is thriving.
Thank you.
The President: Are the paints today as good
without the lead content?
You know, you used to have a high lead content.
Bob Kaiser: Yes.
The President: And I have heard that paints today
maybe are not as good as they used to be because
of what's been done.
Are paints today as good as they used to be or not?
Bob Kaiser: Yes, they're a lot better, I would believe.
The President: You think so?
Bob Kaiser: Yes.
The President: Okay, that's great.
Bob Kaiser: And less harmful to the environment.
The President: Good.
Okay.
Jerry Flannery: Thank you, Mr. President.
Jerry Flannery from Hyundai Motor America.
We're based in Southern California.
The President: Sure.
Jerry Flannery: Last year, sold over 700,000 cars
in the United States and we proudly built 400,000
of those in Montgomery, Alabama.
As you know, we committed $3.1 billion further investment --
The President: That's true.
Jerry Flannery: -- in the United States over the next
five years between Hyundai and Kia.
And help to bring more jobs working
on automation, research and development.
Look forward to working with you.
Thank you for your leadership.
The President: Thank you, Jerry.
It's a big investment you're making.
I know all about it.
And you'll be very happy.
You're going to be very happy.
Thank you.
Jerry Flannery: Thank you for your leadership.
The President: John?
John Maddox: Good afternoon, Mr. President.
Thank you very much for joining us here.
John Maddox, the president and CEO of the American
Center for Mobility here at Willow Run.
We're a technology startup.
We are focused on automated and connected
vehicle technologies.
We're building a proving grounds here right at
Willow Run, taking advantage -- continuing
the spirit of innovation here.
Really focused on making a place that auto companies
and technology companies and government agencies
can use to develop the technology very rapidly.
We also see automated technology, connected
technology as critical for competitiveness
in the auto industry.
We know other countries are following our lead.
The President: And you're going to need a lot of
approvals for that because that is a very tough situation.
I know you're having a tough situation in certain states.
Not in Tennessee, I don't think.
To have the autonomous cars, without driver.
So, it's going to be very interesting, but we're
going to help you and help you as much as we can.
John Maddox: And Michigan and the auto industry
are going to lead the way.
The President: Thank you.
Jim Lentz: Mr. President, Jim Lentz from Toyota.
Thank you very much for being here today
and listening to the industry.
The mid-term review -- fair and thorough is very important.
You know, as we look at what's happening in the
industry, smart regulation is really what we need
to think about.
It's very complex today with what's going on with
emissions and CAFE, but --
The President: It shouldn't be complex, but --
Jim Lentz: Yeah, I would agree.
The President: It shouldn't be.
It's not a complex subject.
It's going to be great regulation, but it's going
to be fair.
Jim Lentz: Yeah.
The President: But it won't be complex.
It'll be better for the environment, it'll be
better for safety, but it won't be complex.
Jim Lentz: And I think as we look at future
regulation around autonomy, around connected cars,
other issues that the industry is going
to face -- that same idea of smart regulation, I think,
is really going to work.
You know, we have -- we have headquartered our
autonomous unit here in North America --
a billion-dollar investment in artificial
intelligence, as well as our connected car company
is going to be here in North America.
So, you will see jobs.
The President: You got to build those new plants
here though, Jim.
You know what I'm talking about, right?
Jim Lentz: I understand.
The President: I know I gave you a hard time,
but you got to build them here, okay?
Jim Lentz: I understand.
The President: All right. Michael.
Michael Sprague: Thank you, Mr. President.
It's an honor to be here.
Really appreciate it.
Proud to represent Kia Motors and our 3,000
employees down in West Point, Georgia building
the Sorento that you had an opportunity to see there.
The President: Sure. Very nice.
Michael Sprague: We opened that plant back in 2009.
360,000 cars built per year, 3,000 employees,
15,000 indirect employees, so really appreciate it.
We did it in the height of the recession.
Took an economic depressed area and now it's booming.
So, more jobs coming.
The President: Great, Michael.
Thank you.
I heard that.
Michael Sprague: Thank you.
Appreciate it.
Sergio Marchionne: I just want to thank you for
being here today.
I think my colleagues have expressed all our
collective concerns.
There's not much I can add, but thank you for coming.
The President: Thank you, Sergio. Governor?
Rick Snyder: Yeah, well, thank you for coming,
Mr. President.
It's exciting to have you here at the American
Center for Mobility.
This is going to be the world's best test site
for autonomous intelligent vehicles.
And it's critically important to our future
and you're helping build that with your thoughts
about tax reform, regulatory reform,
that's how we've helped bring Michigan back.
And we look forward to working with you and great
partnership to show how we can lead the world.
So, thank you for being in Michigan.
The President: Great.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, Governor.
Elaine Chao: Mr. President, today is a
win for the American economy and the American worker.
The President: Thank you, thank you very much.
Keep up the good work. Mary?
Mary Barra: Well, again, Mr. President, thank you
for this opportunity.
I think the team has stated it very well,
but I want to reinforce, you know, we can do the right thing
from an environmental perspective.
We can do it in an efficient way.
We can make sure that we're preserving and even
growing jobs.
So, I see this as a huge opportunity and I hope
that we can include that in the dialogue.
The President: Good.
It will be.
You okay, Dennis?
You want to go again?
Dennis Williams: I'm fine.
You know, Mr. President, I'm glad you're here.
I'm really happy to hear that we're going
to continue to work on the environment.
The only thing I would like for you to change
a piece of your discussion when you say, "We want you
to build your factories here and be UAW members
so we can have a great partnership." Okay?
The President: I understand that, Dennis.
Dennis Williams: We want the workers to rise too, right?
The President: Some things never change, right?
(laughter)
Dennis Williams: I mean, we want the workers to rise, right?
The President: We do.
Workers are going to rise, believe me.
They're going to have so many options and so many jobs.
And we appreciate your support too, Dennis.
For everything.
Dennis Williams: I've got to convince the Senator down there.
The President: Mark, go ahead.
Mark Fields: Just to reiterate what everybody else says.
We can do right by the economy, jobs, and we can
do right by the environment.
And I think you can have a -- as everybody said,
a win-win-win.
I would just like to emphasize as we -- as we
do this mid-term review, a very important title was
used when we agreed back in 2011, which was one
national standard.
And so working together with Car -- California
Resources Board, NITSA, and also EPA is going
to be hugely important to the entire industry to be able
to do this economically right for the environment
and right for the customer.
The President: And that'll be worked out pretty quickly.
Very high standards, but worked out quickly. Scott?
Scott Pruitt: Mr. President, it's an
honor to be with you today.
It's been wonderful to meet you here today as well.
As Mark indicated, we've lived under this narrative
for the last several years that you can't be pro
growth and pro environment.
That's something we need to reject as a country.
We can grow jobs, we can be pro growth, and we can
also be good stewards of the environment.
As you look around this table, Mr. President, each
of these individuals were told that they were going
to take a test in April of 2018 and what happened
last year is that the EPA said, "No, we're not going
to give the test in April of 2018.
We're going to accelerate it by 16 months and take
the test early."
You righted that today.
It's great leadership and we appreciate the leadership.
The President: Okay.
Thank you very much, Scott.
Jose Munoz: Jose Munoz with Nissan.
Mr. President, thank you for the invitation.
It's an honor to be here.
We really appreciate the position that you've
taken today.
It's an historical moment.
I want to say that we have very proudly in America,
since over 58 years, 33 years with production
plants, 22,000 employees, 12,000 of them in Tennessee.
We appreciate the support very much from Senators
Alexander and Corker and also from the Governor
in Tennessee.
We have increased our production in America 78
percent the last five years, 50 percent sales
increase, more than one million cars produced.
We have the largest plant in America, historically,
all brands in Tennessee -- 645,000 vehicles produced
and also the largest engine plant also
in (inaudible) Tennessee with over one million
engines produced.
And we'd been the first ones implementing
a plant in Mississippi.
Thank you very much again.
The President: What percentage of your cars
are made here versus Japan?
Jose Munoz: Well, we do 65 percent of our plants here.
The President: Sold in the United States?
Jose Munoz: Yes.
The President: Okay, good.
I had your great Prime Minister with me.
Prime Minister Abe.
He's a great gentleman and a great -- become a great
friend of mine.
So, we had a very, very great time two weeks ago.
You possibly heard about it.
Great guy.
Jose Munoz: Yes, indeed.
The President: Yes, sir.
Dietmar Exler: Hello, Mr. President.
I'm Dietmar Exler from Mercedes-Benz USA.
Thank you for having us here today and thank you
for opening the door for discussions about
regulation that can support growth.
At Mercedes-Benz, we've also been producing
vehicles in the U.S. for about 20 years.
We made -- we started with the SUV production for
the whole world here.
We're down in Vance, Alabama producing over
300,000 vehicles there.
About 70 percent actually exported to other countries
in the world.
The President: Very good.
Thank you.
Male Speaker: Thank you, Mr. President.
I think we are the Benjamin here.
We are the junior around the table.
We don't have a car yet, as you probably have seen.
We are -- we are building a factory in the United
States as we speak in South Carolina,
close to Charleston.
We will open it mid next year.
We will start with 60,000 cars and have the capacity
to move along to 140,000 cars.
So we are delighted to be here.
we took a deliberate choice to be in the United States
and I think we are happy we took that --
we took that decision.
The President: Well, thank you.
And South Carolina's a great place.
Very special place.
And again, our Chief of Staff, Reince, would you
like to say something?
Reince Priebus: Other than really proud to work for
the President who works hard every day.
I've never seen anyone work harder than him.
And the accomplishments that he's put on the table
so far have been tremendous.
And he's got the hearts of the American worker
on his mind every day.
And you're all part of making that dream come true.
The President: Thank you.
Rick Schostek: Mr. President, I'm Rick Schostek from Honda.
I also want to add our voice of thanks
for reinstating the mid-term review process.
Thanks to you and to Administrator Pruitt,
we very much appreciate that.
Honda has 12 manufacturing facilities in the United States.
We've been building here since 1979.
Not only cars, but lawn mowers, generators,
all-terrain vehicles.
I recently opened a plant making jets in South Carolina
-- business jets in North Carolina.
The President: I saw that, beautiful.
Very nice.
Rick Schostek: I'm proud to employ 30,000
hardworking men and women here in the United States.
And, you know, looking forward with new
technologies and environmental technologies
we just recently announced along with General Motors
a joint venture to make fuel cells right here
in Michigan.
The President: That's great.
Thank you very much, Rick.
David Dauch: Mr. President, I'm David Dauch from
American Axle Manufacturing,
tier one automotive of driveline, drivetrain,
and metal-formed products.
We support General Motors and Ford and FCA as well
as many of the other esteemed OEMs here.
Strong manufacturer committed to U.S. manufacturing.
We're in the process of acquiring another U.S.
based company adding an additional 30 U.S. plants
to our portfolio today, which is over 20.
We'll have 25,000 associates as part of our organization
when it's all said and done.
So, very committed to U.S. manufacturing.
Very committed to your agenda and glad to be with
you and support the team.
The President: Great company too.
David Dauch: Thank you.
Steve Miller: Mr. President, I'm Steve
Miller, and I am CEO at International Automotive
Components.
We have 80 factories around the world and serve
all of the major automakers near their
place of business.
You hired my boss, Wilbur Ross, to join your cabinet --
The President: Smart guy, right? Smart?
Steve Miller: He's going to deal with the trade
issues and he understands them deeply.
Our industry is inherently a global supply chain.
The President: Right.
Steve Miller: And we need to make sure that America
is treated fairly.
But that should not stop the benefits that all
people get from trading.
The President: Well, you do know that we are not
being treated fairly, though?
You do know that, right?
I think, better than anybody.
Steve Miller: Thank you very much.
The President: No, America is not being treated
fairly by the world and it's going to be treated
fairly, believe me.
Senator?
Senator Alexander: Thanks, Mr. President, for bringing
me to Michigan where auto jobs are growing.
When we leave here, we'll be going to another state
where they're growing, Tennessee.
Thanks to General Motors, Nissan, Volkswagen,
and 1,000 suppliers, auto jobs are now one third of all
of our manufacturing jobs and the single most
important thing you can do to help us is what you're
doing today, which is to create a competitive
environment so that the plants and the suppliers
in our country can compete with the rest of the world.
The President: Thank you, Senator.
Dave Trott: Dave Trott, Congressman from
Southeast Michigan.
Thank you for coming back to Michigan,
Mr. President.
We met here several years ago when you came in for
the open county Lincoln dinner.
I think it's still the largest Lincoln dinner
in our state's history.
Thanks for attacking all the regulations affecting
the auto industry.
People forget all these regulations that have been
promulgated add a bout $6,000 to the cost of every car.
And also, I would be remiss if I didn't tell
you that Speaker Ryan is doing a great job getting
your healthcare solution through the House.
The President: Good.
Good man.
And I want to thank you, Dave.
It's true, about five or six years ago I was given
the man of the year in Michigan.
And I made a speech -- I didn't know I'd be doing
this -- I didn't know I'd be running for President.
I made a speech and I said, "Your car industry
is being stolen from you."
Is that right?
And I spoke about it and I think the people
of Michigan never forgot that speech and that's why
we're here.
So -- and I want to thank you for your support.
You were amazing for a long time.
Thank you, David.
Does anybody have any questions, and then we're
going to head out.
Going to do a little speech.
Everyone okay?
I want to thank everybody very much and let's go to
the next event.
(applause)