Brent Snavely

Detroit Free Press

Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump reacted Tuesday afternoon to Ford's decision to invest $1.6 billion in Mexico, calling it "an absolute disgrace."

Ford said earlier Tuesday that it would build a new plant in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, to build small cars there starting in 2018. The investment will create 2,800 new jobs in Mexico.

Ford is expanding its presence in Mexico, but the automaker said it also remains committed to investing $9 billion in the U.S. over the next four years, adding about 8,500 jobs. Ford also is among more than a half-dozen automakers that have expanded plants or built new plants in Mexico in recent years.

"These ridiculous, job crushing transactions will not happen when I am President," said Trump, who has criticized Ford in the past for its plans to expand in Mexico.

Ford to invest $1.6 billion for new plant in Mexico

Here is Trump's full statement Trump provided by the Trump campaign:

"This transaction is an absolute disgrace. Our dishonest politicians and the special interests that control them are laughing in the face of all American citizens.

These ridiculous, job crushing transactions will not happen when I am President. The United States now has a three quarter trillion dollar merchandising trade deficit with the world. NAFTA has incentivized plants to move to Mexico, closing factories across the United States.

When I am President, we will strongly enforce trade rules against unfair foreign subsidies, and impose countervailing duties to prevent egregious instances of outsourcing.

This will continue until we can renegotiate NAFTA to create a fair deal for American workers. Cheap goods are not cheap when you consider the cost of lower wages and higher unemployment.

Once we reduce the incentive to outsource and keep business in the US -- and reduce taxes and regulations -- the relative price of goods will go down as decades of wage stagnation finally come to an end."

– Donald J. Trump

Contact Brent Snavely: 313-222-6512 or bsnavely@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrentSnavely.