David Brancaccio

So...

The U.S.

had a response to the tariff that the Europeans put on our chickens.

What was it?

Well, that's right.

So all this innovation, then the response to the chicken tax, the light duty truck tariff.

Absolutely.

You look at that pickup truck from 1962, and it looks pretty much like a pickup truck you're going to buy today, maybe a little less aerodynamic.

But do you think that this tariff may have kind of preserved the status quo when you compare the truck from 60 years ago and the truck now?

Now, U.S.

automakers make a lot of money off of those light duty trucks, the pickup trucks.

That tariff, you think, has something to do with that?

My road trip buddy, John Krafchick, is a longtime automotive executive with experience at Ford, at Hyundai USA, and Waymo, the autonomous vehicle company.

He currently sits on the board at the EV company Rivian.

John, thank you.

Now, the tariff genie giveth and it taketh away while the 60-year-old chicken-inspired light truck tax is still with us, as we say.

Now there's the Trump administration's 50 percent tariff on aluminum, which is crushing Ford's profit on its 150 pickup truck now.

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Ford's pleas for help have so far been rejected by the administration.

Now, tomorrow's my last day as host of the Marketplace Morning Report here.

No more 2 a.m.