US carmaker General Motors(GM)confirmed to the Global Times on Tuesday that it had stopped exporting US-made vehicles to China amid a restructuring of its Durant Guild,while stressing that it is"committed to continued development in the China market."
GM informed employees and dealers for its export business in China that it would stop shipping vehicles to China from the US,Reuters reported.
"Due to significant changes to economic conditions,we have decided to restructure The Durant Guild and correspondingly optimize GM China's operations,"the report said,citing a company spokesperson.
GM exported vehicles from the US to China through its Durant Guild premium import business,which represented less than 0.1 percent of the volume it sells in China,according to a company spokesperson.
"Since its formation,the premium import business has been negatively impacted by significant changes in economic conditions,foreign exchange rates and reduced demand.As a result,the company has decided to restructure The Durant Guild and correspondingly optimize GM China's operations,"GM China said in a statement sent to the Global Times.
Looking ahead,we are evaluating alternative opportunities for premium imports,based on market conditions,customer demand and policy updates,the US carmaker said.
GM's restructuring of its car import business indicates the negative impact of US tariffs on American companies,He Weiwen,a senior fellow at the Center for China and Globalization,told the Global Times on Tuesday.
He said that the high US tariffs have prompted countermeasures from other countries,and due to higher prices on imports from the US,consumers in other countries will naturally choose alternatives,thus leading to a drop in US carmakers'exports.
GM lowered its profit expectations for the year as the carmaker braces for a potential impact from auto tariffs as high as$5 billion in 2025,the Associated Press reported on May 1.
Another US car giant-Ford Motor-suspended its 2025 financial guidance amid an expected$2.5 billion impact this year from the US government's tariffs,CNBC reported on May 5.
It is worth noting that GM reported a strong first-quarter performance in China on growth in electric vehicles and hybrids,according to a press release on the company's China website.GM and its joint ventures delivered more than 442,000 units in China in the first quarter,with positive year-on-year sales growth and a third consecutive quarter of sequential gains in market share,the data showed.
"We will continue to strengthen our core business and drive the success of our joint ventures in China to deliver sustainable profitability now and for the future,"GM told the Global Times.
It is hoped that the US side will,on the basis of the China-US Economic and Trade Meeting in Geneva,continue to work with China,move in the same direction,and fully rectify its erroneous practice of imposing unilateral tariffs,a spokesperson of China's Ministry of Commerce(MOFCOM)said on May 12.
China also hopes that the two countries will be able to continuously enhance mutually beneficial cooperation and maintain the healthy,stable and sustainable development of bilateral economic and trade relations to inject greater certainty and stability into the world economy,said the MOFCOM spokesperson.
