TMG says US factory is a long-term bet, not a tariff play

Portuguese automotive interiors supplier TMG Automotive said its €55 million investment in a factory in the southern United States is a long-term strategic move to become a global partner to carmakers, not a response to tariff policy. Speaking at ECO’s Fábrica 2030 conference in Porto, CEO Isabel Furtado underlined the group expects to remain in the US for “many more years”, underlining the company’s international expansion strategy.

“If I made a €55 million investment because of Trump’s tariffs, that would be very reductive. Donald Trump comes and goes, and I hope to be there for many more years. You do not invest €55 million for a political cycle”, Furtado said. She explained TMG’s two factories outside Portugal serve different goals: in China, local production is aimed at being closer to the end customer, while in the US the objective is to become what she called “a truly global partner” for the automotive sector.

Furtado said TMG expanded through different models in each market. In China, the company entered by buying a stake in an existing business, while in the US it found a local partner to start production and gain scale. She stated that investing abroad was essential because exporting alone would not amount to true internationalisation and would limit access to new clients.

The executive also criticised Portugal’s bureaucracy and lack of legislative, labour and tax stability, saying slow administrative processes can hold back investment. She said it took TMG one year and three months to obtain a continuous operating licence for a warehouse in Portugal, longer than it took to open a factory in the US.

Originally published at Eco.pt