Protectionism Hurts GM's Business

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Attention pro-protectionists: Protectionism creates problems for one of your most favorite companies. GM wants to bring its new Chevrolet Trax SUVlet to Brazil, but Brazil is giving GM a hard time, says Reuters.

GM started production of the Trax in Mexico this month, with firm plans of shipping the Trax to Brazil. However, Brazil, the country lauded by pro-protectionists for its newly sealed borders and high taxes on imports, reneged on a free trade agreement with Mexico. Result: The small SUV market in Brazil goes to Ford (EcoSport), Renault (Duster), and Suzuki (Jimny). Honda said it would bring a small SUV to Brazil in 2014, and Volkswagen unveiled a mini SUV concept, the Taigun, The compact SUV segment is one of the fastest-growing niches in the world’s fourth-largest auto market, but GM has no product.

In the meantime, the Trax will be sold in more than 140 markets, but not in Brazil yet. There are rumors of an expensive imported Trax, followed by a locally produced one, but Carlos Barba, head of GM design in Brazil, did not want to confirm this to Reuters.

“We are working on that. We have a plan. We’ll get there, but I cannot tell you the dates.”

It’s about time GM get’s its act together in that segment. “These guys are riding the wave for 10 years and we’re just looking at it,” Barba said. Protectionism can be a bitch if you sit on the wrong side of the fence.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

More by Bertel Schmitt

Comments
Join the conversation
16 of 49 comments
  • Pch101 Pch101 on Oct 26, 2012

    GM has been operating plants in Brazil since the 30s. This "crisis" can be resolved by shifting or adding plant capacity in Brazil. Increased capacity would mean more jobs for the locals. I'm pretty sure that's exactly what the Brazilian government wants, and there will be Brazilians who will be grateful for the jobs and added economic activity. The loser here may be Mexico, as they presumably now have a little bit of excess capacity as a result of the tariffs.

    • See 8 previous
    • Landcrusher Landcrusher on Oct 27, 2012

      @Landcrusher I never implied I was trading facts, quite the opposite. I have stated before if you want me to do research, you will have to pay me. It benefits me too little to play high school debate club. Brazil's response will hurt more than the likely lost jobs over currency fluctuations. Carefully measured responses to currency manipulation are sometimes called for, but this doesn't appear to be one of those times. This isn't a political rant either. This is one of those few things where one side is being political, and only an ignorant bystander is being fooled into thinking its arguable. Anyone playing the game knows its bad and is doing it anyway. It's like wife swapping.

  • Tonycd Tonycd on Oct 26, 2012

    C'mon, Bertel.

  • BigMeats BigMeats on Oct 26, 2012

    Re: Protectionism I feel qualified to opine because I was a happy steelworker until I wasn't anymore. American workers and probably some elsewhere were given a 50 year cocoon during which our unchallengeably prosperous countries shielded us from economic realities like competition and risk. That only served to retard our moral and intellectual development. Instead of acquiring more education and personal finance skills we bought things and piled up debt. We came to believe that this situation was a birthright. Then the situation changed and we got really pissed off. Collectively we're just a rich kid whose old man went broke. Now we have to deal for real with the whole effing rest of the world. Well, we're all older now so this sucks even more. And we've let our kids go lax regarding education and personal responsibility so they're going to be duds in the new reality. I don't know how protectionism will excuse us from the consequences of our own profligacy. Business is not charity, it must chase profits. If we workers had bothered to chase anything besides shiny toys and awesome cookouts back in the day, we might have been investors instead of insolvent today.

    • See 2 previous
    • Shelvis Shelvis on Oct 26, 2012

      Yeah, sending a man to the moon, making huge strides in social equality, and advancing science and technology exponentially was a real waste of the old man's checkbook.

  • Rmwill Rmwill on Oct 26, 2012

    Brazil's protectionist stance is largely attributed to their dislike for our agricultural protectionism, including farm subsidies and price controls. Tit for tat. I totally agree with the statement that protectionism is hurting GM in this case, but the situation is more complex than Brazil being the bad actor.

Next