Editor's note: The U.S. in July implemented a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports. An earlier version of this story misstated the percentage of that tariff.
DETROIT — Linamar Corp. CEO Linda Hasenfratz on Wednesday urged the auto industry to pressure lawmakers to end steel and aluminum tariffs, or else risk losing millions of annual North American vehicle sales.
Hasenfratz, speaking at the Automotive News World Congress in Detroit, said political uncertainty is "creating a lot of noise" in the industry, making it difficult for companies to focus on long-term priorities such as investing in electric and autonomous technology.
Citing industry experts she has spoken with, she said steel and aluminum tariffs could take between 2 million and 2.5 million units out of the North American market if they are not lifted by midyear.
"All of us have a voice, and we should be using that voice to talk to our governments to get that solved," Hasenfratz said. "This is something that we can control. There [are] a lot of recessions and downturns we can't control."
The U.S. in July implemented a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports, which were soon followed by retaliatory tariffs from Canada. Canada has since issued exemptions to some steel and aluminum imports to give relief to Canadian companies that have been hurt.
Hasenfratz said even though 23 of Ontario-based Linamar's 60 factories are in Canada, the impact of the tariffs on the company's bottom line has been minimal. But the tariffs risk increasing new-vehicle prices over the long term, leading to decreased demand and business for suppliers such as Linamar.
"Both GM and Ford talked about $1 billion of impact," she said. "They can only absorb those costs for so long before prices start to go up and demand goes down."
Despite tariff concerns, Hasenfratz said the industry has major opportunities for growth, citing strong economies and the emergence of new technologies.
"I feel like this is the most opportunistic time I've ever seen in the automotive industry," she said. "I think if we stay flexible, we focus on the big picture and focus on facts and look past the noise of all this trade/tariffs stuff that's going on and keep innovating and focus long-term, we can certainly be successful."
She said she sees Canada remaining a viable market for auto manufacturing, citing the country's skilled work force. Still, she urged the country's leaders to lower corporate taxes to become more competitive with the U.S. in the wake of its 2017 tax cuts.
"I do believe that manufacturing in Canada is very competitive," Hasenfratz said. "The sign of competitiveness is winning business, and we've won billions of dollars of work in the last three or four years for our Canadian plants. That tells us Canadian manufacturing is competitive."
