Executives at San Antonio's booming Toyota truck plant are blasting the tariffs being implemented by Presiden tTrump, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Kevin Voelkel with Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas says the tariffs are 'nothing more than a tax on consumers, which will jack up prices across the board.
"In fact the Tundra that we make right here in San Antonio on the south side, we would see an increase of $2800," Voelkel told News Radio 1200 WOAI.
That is because of the proposed 25% tariff on imported vehicles and component parts, as well as imported steel and aluminum.
Voelkel says the trucks built in San Antonio are exported to 31 countries, and are a major benefit to America's balance of trade.
He says between the plant itself and the suppliers who ring the plant amount to more than 7,000 good paying jobs in San Antonio.
"7200 Americans working right here that would be impacted, along with the families," Voelkel said. "For us to be perceived as a threat to national security, which is something that is being articulated, is something that we refute."
He says the days are over when a vehicle was built in one country and exported to another. It has been estimated by the Dallas Fed that parts and products inside a Toyota Tundra cross back and forth across international borders several times before the truck is actually assembled in San Antonio.
Voelkel says Toyota 'stands ready to work with the Trump Administration to advance opportunities that remove trade barriers and promote economic growth.'