Automaker Toyota announced it will shift most of the production of its midsize Tacoma pickup truck from Mexico to the United States as part of a $3.6 billion expansion of its San Antonio plant.
The announcement late Monday comes just days after the Trump administration declined to renew the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, kicking off a 10-year process to wind down the pact.
The Japanese automaker explicitly mentions the USMCA agreement in its announcement, suggesting that trade policy uncertainty and possible increased costs because of President Trump’s tariffs were factors in its decision to pull out of its Tijuana, Mexico, factory and move production to San Antonio.
By relocating to Texas, Toyota moves a high-sales model that is important to the U.S. market closer to its customers.
“Toyota remains committed to its operations throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico and encourages a quick resolution to the USMCA to make the North American region globally competitive,” the company said in a statement announcing the shift.
Mr. Trump hailed Toyota’s decision as a vindication of his trade policies.
“Toyota is moving from Mexico to the United States (Texas!). A really big deal. Tariffs at work!” he posted on Truth Social.
The world’s largest automaker by sales, Toyota said it will build a second assembly line at the San Antonio factory that will create 2,000 jobs and increase annual production capacity by 150,000 units.
The San Antonio plant already manufactures Tundra SUVs and Sequoia pickup trucks, and Toyota is planning to open a rear axle assembly facility at the location this fall.
Mr. Trump last year imposed sweeping 25% tariffs on imported automobiles and automotive parts under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act.
A Supreme Court ruling in February struck down most of Mr. Trump’s tariff power, but it left in place the Section 232 tariffs, which are imposed to address national security threats.
Since Mr. Trump imposed his auto tariffs, several auto manufacturers have shifted production to the U.S. or expanded U.S. manufacturing:
• Hyundai Motor Group announced a $26 billion investment in the U.S., including opening a plant in Louisiana and shifting production of its Tucson SUV from Mexico to Alabama.
• Honda scrapped plans to build its next-generation Civic Hybrid in Guanajuato, Mexico, and move it to Greensburg, Indiana, specifically citing Mr. Trump’s tariffs as the reason.
• Stellanits announced a $13 billion U.S. investment in October 2025 that will expand plants in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio and repurpose idle U.S. factories for new hybrid/EV models.
Mr. Trump’s decision not to renew the USMCA trade deal, which covers about $2 trillion in trade between the three countries, has created even more uncertainty in the auto industry.
The president signed the deal in his first term to replace the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, but has since soured on it, saying he prefers using tariffs to shrink the U.S. trade deficit.
The auto industry represented about 18% of America’s trade with Canada and Mexico, according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Industry leaders have urged U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to keep the U.S. in the trade deal.
“We support U.S.-Mexico bilateral engagement and encourage trilateral discussions to support an efficient and effective review that will ultimately extend USMCA as a trilateral agreement,” lobbying groups that represent the vast majority of U.S. automakers, suppliers and dealers wrote in a May 7 letter to Mr. Greer.
The USMCA has driven $182 billion in North American investment, 86% of which has been announced for the U.S., according to U.S. automotive lobbying groups’ letter.
The USMCA requires 75% of “value content” for passenger vehicles and light trucks to be sourced from North America. Mr. Trump wants to increase that to 82%, with 50% produced in the U.S.
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