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Buick’s Envision isn’t just a car. It’s a globe-trotting, tariff-dodging, political hot potato wrapped in sheet metal. Built in China, shipped across the Pacific, and sold at your local dealership—this little SUV found itself in the crosshairs of a 2018 trade war. And guess what? It survived.

President Trump’s tariff showdown

Back in 2018, President Trump slapped a 25% tariff on Chinese imports, declaring economic war against Beijing. GM, however, had other ideas. It asked the White House for a hall pass, claiming the Envision didn’t belong in the fight. After all, Buick sold five times more Envisions in China (210,000) than in the U.S. (42,000).

GM’s argument? The Envision’s U.S. sales weren’t enough to justify building it stateside. Moving production would take longer than the SUV’s life cycle. In GM’s own words, “Relocating manufacturing to the United States for this project is not feasible.”

The automaker even played the sympathy card, warning that tariffs could force it to pull the Envision from U.S. showrooms altogether. The company wrote, “A 25 percent tariff on the Envision may eliminate the vehicles from Buick’s U.S. offerings. This would strike a significant blow to the Buick brand.”

The Art of No Deal: Trump calls Buick’s bluff

But Trump wasn’t buying it. His administration shot down GM’s request, stating that the Envision was tied to China’s “Made in China 2025” industrial program. Translation? Too much Chinese influence—no dice.

It was as game of corporate “chicken” with all the tension of the end of an episode of The Apprentice. So what did GM do? It blinked. Instead of pulling the Envision, it ate the tariff like a kid gulping down Brussels sprouts and kept selling the SUV anyway. And no, the price didn’t go up. GM quietly absorbed the extra cost, proving once and for all that at least for now, the corporation can survive a trade war.

Made in China, cruising down Main Street

Today, the Envision is still rolling off assembly lines in China’s Shandong province and sailing straight to U.S. shores. Despite the drama, Trump’s strategy seems to have worked—no factory closures, no dealership meltdowns, and no compact-crossover-shaped holes in the lineup.

So if you’re driving an Envision, congratulations. Your SUV survived a trade war. It dodged tariffs, braved political debates, and still managed to park itself comfortably in American garages. Now that’s what I call an international road warrior.

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Staff Writer

Henry Cesari

Henry Cesari joined MotorBiscuit in 2021 and brings his deep interest in vintage cars, trucks, and motorcycles to the site. Having restored his first classic car at just 16 years old, Henry has wrenched on everything from overland campers to Japanese motorcycles and even pre-war Bugattis. Henry is also an avid attendee at local car shows and genuinely enjoys connecting with fellow auto enthusiasts.

Henry earned a Bachelor’s in Anthropology and English from the University of Vermont. He has since incorporated his love of the written word with his admiration of classic cars. While Henry is interested in vintage cars, he believes the golden age of cars is yet to come. He is confident journalists will play an important role in this revolution by exposing the industry as it is now and envisioning its possible future.