Trump vows to cut regulations in meeting with US automakers

President Trump met Tuesday with top domestic auto executives, vowing to cut regulations that will make it easier to build and sell cars in the U.S.

Trump told leaders from Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler that he will simplify the regulatory process for constructing manufacturing plants here to boost jobs.

“We’re going to make the process much more simple for the auto companies and for everybody else who wants to do business in the United States,” Trump said.

“You’re going to find this to be from being very inhospitable to extremely hospitable,” he said.

{mosads}Even before everyone sat down for the meeting, Trump playfully said to two of the executives, “start building in the U.S,” according to a press pool report.

The president called himself an environmentalist, but argued that those regulations are “out of control” and promised to push the permitting approval process along at a much faster clip.

“We’re bringing manufacturing back to the United States big league, we’re reducing taxes very substantially and we’re reducing unnecessary regulations,” Trump said.

“And we want regulations, but we want real regulation that mean something,” he said.

Trump has criticized U.S. and foreign automakers, arguing that they should build their plants here if they want to sell cars here.

He has threatened to apply hefty tariffs on U.S. companies that move their operations abroad and import their products back here.

Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and administration officials met at the White House with GM CEO Mary Barra, Ford CEO Mark Fields, Ziad Ojakli, head of Ford’s global relations, Craig Glidden, executive vice president of GM, Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Chrysler, Matt Blunt, president of the American Automotive Policy Council and Shane Karr from the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers.