Ford Motor Co. is trying to shield its Ford Transit Connect commercial van from “the chicken tax,” a 25% tariff that applies to assembled trucks imported to the U.S., Ward’s Auto reports.
The Transit Connect, produced at a joint-venture site shared by Ford and Turkey’s Koc Group, is currently set to arrive in the U.S. fully assembled, according to Ford manufacturing chief Joe Hinrichs.
At a media event in Wayne, MI, Hinrichs said that importing Transit Connects equipped with seats and removing them wouldn’t be difficult. The tactic would be similar to what Chrysler LLC does with its Dodge Sprinter, importing it as a complete-knocked-down kit from Germany and assembling it as its Ladson, SC, plant, Ward’s said.
The ‘chicken tax’ nickname is derived from a 1964 trade dispute, during which the U.S. retaliated against European countries that stopped U.S. frozen chicken exports.
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