Mercedes' US Home of Alabama Shudders at Harsh Trump Trade Talk
industryweek | June 14, 2017
President Donald Trump's harsh criticism of Germany's trade practices is sowing concerns in rural, Republican Alabama, where Mercedes-Benz has been an economic engine for two decades. The big German carmaker since 1997 has manufactured cars in Tuscaloosa, a city of 90,000 in western Alabama previously known almost exclusively for being the home of the University of Alabama and its celebrated sports program. In 2016, Mercedes, manufacturing at full capacity in Tuscaloosa, produced more than 300,000 of the 380,000 cars sold in the U.S. market. The plant also exports some of the SUVs it manufactures.