New threat from Trump on imports

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump hinted Wednesday that he’s looking into slapping tariffs on car imports, a day after he threatened to slash federal subsidies to General Motors for wanting to close five U.S. factories.

GM announced Monday that it wants to shutter the plants and slash 14,000 jobs in North America. Many of the job cuts would affect the Midwest, the politically crucial region where the president promised a manufacturing rebirth.

Trump’s comments about GM’s plan are the latest example of his willingness to try to meddle in the affairs of private companies and threaten to use government power to influence their business decisions.

Trump boasted on Twitter Wednesday that Steel Dynamics, based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, was opening a new plant in the Southwest, creating 600 jobs. He said it was evidence that steel jobs were returning to America because of tariffs.