American Car, Made in Korea: Why GM Gets Roiled by Tariffs (1)

Long gone are the days when an imported car meant a foreign car. And no company proves the point more than General Motors Co.

The Detroit stalwart imported more cars into the US last year than any other automaker, even Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp. Nearly half of the vehicles GM sold in the US last year – 1.23 million autos – were built abroad, according to researcher GlobalData. That includes many of its most affordable models, like the Korean-made Chevrolet Trax and Buick Envista SUVs, whose low prices depend on cheap production.

Now, no American automaker stands to ...