General Motors Co
is going ahead with its plan to manufacture the new Chevrolet Blazer SUV in Mexico , a spokesman for the automaker said on Thursday , despite criticism by U.S. President Donald Trump over making vehicles abroad.
The new version of Chevrolet Blazer, one of the brand’s most popular models, will be manufactured in Mexican soil and exported to the United States.
Trump has been pressing automakers to build more vehicles in the United States under efforts to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) .
“We remain committed to working with the administration on a modernized NAFTA,” GM spokesman Patrick Morrissey said, adding the decision was made years ago.
Trump has previously criticized GM for building vehicles in Mexico for sale in the United States, to which the top three automakers of the United States, GM, Ford, and Chrysler , claim that manufacturing certain models in Mexico, where labor is cheaper, allows them to stay competitive in the face of their Asian and European rivals .
However, the United Auto Workers union called the decision disappointing. “This is all happening while UAW-GM workers here in the U.S. are laid off and unemployed,” the union said in a statement.
Automakers have called NAFTA a success, allowing them to integrate production throughout North America and make production competitive with Asia and Europe .
Trump has repeatedly threatened to pull out of NAFTA unless the deal can be reworked in a way that favors the United States.
dm