Chevrolet Tahoe vehicles wait for final inspection before being driven off the production line at the GM assembly plant in Arlington, Texas. (Matthew Busch/Bloomberg)
General Motors Co. has halted shipments of a small number of U.S.-made vehicles to China as the fallout of President Donald Trump’s tariffs reshapes the global auto sector.
The move is part of a restructuring of GM’s Durant Guild, named after founder Billy Durant and set up in 2022 to import premium models such as the GMC Yukon and Chevrolet Tahoe into China. But escalating trade tensions between Washington and Beijing have seen carmakers caught in the middle and facing onerous tariffs that effectively blocked trade.
While the U.S. and China agreed this month to temporarily lower duties in a de-escalation of the trade war, the ever-changing policies have caused chaos. They’ve left automakers struggling to assess the immediate financial implications as well as the impact on longer-term investment plans.
GM said in a statement that it’s committed to continued development in China, but faces “significant changes to economic conditions.”
The move is unlikely to have a major impact, given the Durant Guild only accounted for about 0.1% of GM’s deliveries in China, according to the company. GM is still importing the Buick Envision from China to the US.
The carmaker has joint ventures in the country with local partners that sold 442,000 vehicles in the first quarter. GM said it is committed to its joint ventures.
In a possible sign of its difficulties, the Durant Guild was a notable absence from last month’s Shanghai auto show, the nation’s largest industry event.
