Looking for love in the auto supply chain

Foreign automakers already have huge assembly plants in the U.S., but lots of parts and materials come from overseas. <br /><br />To avoid costly tariffs, they gotta buy American. But … How does one meet those suppliers? How do you build a new relationship with them?<br /><br />The answer: Speed dating. <br /><br /><strong>Related episodes:</strong><br /><br /><strong> </strong><a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/05/21/1252663606/the-old-trade-war-that-brought-foreign-carmakers-to-the-us" target="_blank">The old trade war that brought foreign carmakers to the U.S.</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/04/02/1242229719/planet-money-the-case-for-tariffs" target="_blank">Tariffs: What are they good for?</a><br /><br /><br /><em>For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at </em><a href="http://plus.npr.org/" target="_blank"><em>plus.npr.org</em></a><em>. Fact-checking by Tyler Jones. Music by </em><a href="https://dropelectric.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank"><em>Drop Electric</em></a><em>. Find us: </em><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@planetmoney" target="_blank"><em>TikTok</em></a><em>, </em><a href="https://www.instagram.com/planetmoney/" target="_blank"><em>Instagram</em></a><em>, </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/planetmoney" target="_blank"><em>Facebook</em></a><em>, </em><a href="https://www.npr.org/newsletter/money" target="_blank"><em>Newsletter</em></a><em>.  </em><br /><br />See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>