Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer met with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Tuesday. She delivered a message stating that his tariffs were damaging the automotive industry he had pledged to protect.
Tariff Impact on Michigan
In their third meeting since Trump took office, Whitmer warned of severe economic fallout from the tariffs in Michigan. The state was pivotal in Trump’s 2024 election win. She also requested federal aid following a recent ice storm and urged delaying changes to Medicaid that could affect healthcare coverage.
Sources familiar with the meeting, speaking anonymously, indicated Trump made no specific commitments. The president listened but showed no sign of reconsidering his trade policy.
We see the president is sticking to his trade policy, even with warnings about the auto industry. This suggests the tariff pressure on carmakers and their suppliers is not going away in the near term. Derivative traders should take note of this continued policy risk heading into the fall.
We’ve already seen how these trade policies have impacted the market. Recent data shows that U.S. auto sales for the second quarter of 2025 were down nearly 4% compared to the same period last year. This trend is likely driven by higher input costs, such as steel and aluminum, which have squeezed manufacturer profits.
Investor Implications
Given the president’s firm stance, we believe traders should consider buying put options on major automakers like Ford and General Motors. These options could provide a hedge against potential stock price declines in the coming weeks. The lack of any commitment to change policy increases the downside risk for these specific companies.
We remember how market volatility spiked during the trade disputes back in 2018 and 2019. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) saw sharp increases whenever new tariff announcements were made. This historical pattern suggests that implied volatility on auto stocks could rise, making options more expensive but also potentially more profitable.
This situation extends beyond just tariffs, as federal aid for storm recovery and changes to Medicaid were also left unresolved. This signals a wider policy uncertainty that could dampen investor confidence across the board. Therefore, traders might also watch for weakness in the broader industrial sector ETFs.
