Ford Motor Company is not planning to build its Focus Active vehicles in the U.S.
Its statement came after President Donald Trump tweeted Sunday that if the automaker built its crossover model on American soil then it wouldn't pay any tariffs.
He'd been responding to an Aug. 31 report about Ford's decision to cancel plans to sell the Chinese-made Focus Active in the U.S. because of the taxes on Chinese imports.
The Trump administration has already imposed tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods, including some auto parts. China's retaliated dollar-for-dollar, and both sides are still threatening to issue even more tariffs.
But a Ford spokesman said Sunday that it plans to sell fewer than 50,000 of its Focus Active vehicles in a year, so it wouldn't be profitable to manufacture them in the U.S.
Ford announced back in April plans to stopselling some of its most well-known passenger cars in North America, like its Fiesta subcompact and the Fusion midsize sedan. It said it was instead going to focus on its SUVs and trucks.
