DETROIT — General Motors Chief Executive Mary Barra said Tuesday she believes it can mitigate potential tariffs of up to 50% that President Donald Trump has threatened to impose on imports from Canada and Mexico.

The CEO said the Detroit automaker has contingency plans in place if tariffs are imposed on auto parts and vehicles imported from the two neighboring countries. They include avoiding short-term impacts of 30% to 50% in additional costs without investing any money.

“We’re ready,” Barra said Tuesday at the Wolfe Research investment conference. “When we know exactly what’s going to happen, or even know what’s going to happen, we know what steps we can take.”

GM Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson, who appeared with Barra, added that if tariffs are extended, the company may take additional steps, such as moving production, parts or vehicles.

It was GM’s most detailed comment yet that the company believes it can mitigate the impact of tariffs. Two weeks ago, GM failed to address investor concerns about tariffs on its quarterly earnings call, sending the company’s shares down 8%.

General Motors has some operations in Canada and a larger production footprint in Mexico. That includes many lower-priced electric vehicles as well as profitable full-size pickup trucks.

Barra’s comments came after crosstown rival Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley said Trump’s tariffs, both imposed and threatened, are creating “chaos” in the U.S. auto industry.

Farley said the 25% U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imposed this week and the threat of tariffs of the same amount on Mexico and Canada are currently adding “a lot of costs and disruption” to the industry.

“President Trump has talked a lot about making the American auto industry stronger, getting more production, more innovation into the United States, and if his administration can achieve that, it would be … one of the most iconic achievements,” Farley said at the Wolf conference. “What we’ve seen so far is a lot of costs and a lot of disruption.”

Farley and incoming Ford CFO Sherry House said the company sources most of its steel and aluminum domestically; however, some of the automaker’s suppliers source those materials from abroad, which could have an impact on costs.

Barra noted that GM is “evaluating” the impact of steel and aluminum tariffs on its business but said the company buys “substantial” amounts of steel and aluminum from the U.S. In the short term, GM has also set prices on such purchases, she said.

General Motors and Ford each donated $1 million and cars to Trump’s inauguration. Executives from both companies also confirmed they had discussed the auto industry with Trump.

House said Tuesday that Ford’s biggest concern is that all of these seemingly relatively minor actions, including those against suppliers, combine to have a negative impact on the automaker’s business.

“We have to deal with this. That’s what I call the cost of the mess. A little bit here, a little bit there. … That’s what we’re dealing with now,” Farley said.
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