Capitol News

Lucerne International Inc. has canceled its plan to build a $50 million hot aluminum forging plant in Detroit, which would have created 325 new jobs. The company attributed the decision to increased costs resulting from tariffs supported by Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers. According to Crain’s Detroit Business, these tariffs disrupted Lucerne’s three-year effort to move manufacturing operations from China back to the United States.

The chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, Curtis Hertel, commented on the development: “Mike Rogers’ reckless tariff policies just cost Detroit more than 300 manufacturing jobs and a $50 million investment that was supposed to bring production back from China.” Hertel added, “While Mike Rogers is out on the campaign trail mocking families worried about higher costs, his failed policies are killing opportunities for Michigan workers to rebuild the state’s manufacturing base.”

At a recent campaign event, Rogers was reported making light of concerns over rising prices and suggesting such increases were justified despite financial challenges faced by Americans. Since tariffs backed by Rogers were implemented in April, the U.S. has lost 42,000 manufacturing jobs.

In an interview with Crain’s Detroit Business, Lucerne CEO Mary Buchzeiger said: “It’s everything converging at once. You’ve got tariffs that are hitting our equipment costs. You’ve got tariffs that are hitting our raw material costs. You’ve got these questions over the Inflation Reduction Act. You’ve got the industry itself, where programs are being delayed or canceled, margins are being squeezed.”

Michigan has recently seen several other major investments fall through due to federal policy changes and market uncertainty. An Australian mining company abandoned plans for a $210 million electric vehicle battery plant in Detroit; a battery startup vacated most of its factory in Van Buren Township; and a proposed $60 billion microchip project near Flint was also scrapped.

The Center for Automotive Research estimates that tariffs could cost the auto industry up to $188 billion over three years (https://www.cargroup.org/). While manufacturers have absorbed much of these expenses so far, price increases may eventually reach consumers and further reduce production volumes.

Buchzeiger concluded: “I think in the long run, tariffs are bad for everybody because all they’re doing is raising the price for consumers here in the U.S. and making us uncompetitive with the rest of the world.”