It didn’t take long for General Motors and Ford to feel the impact of tariffs President Donald Trump imposed on steel and aluminum. The two automakers last month reduced their full-year earnings forecasts by a combined total of about $3 billion.

However, an auto industry analyst and a local GM spokeswoman don’t expect the Bowling Green-made Chevrolet Corvette to be significantly affected by the Trump administration’s trade policies.

GM has already cut more than 1,000 jobs at its Lordstown, Ohio, assembly plant, and while those job losses can be chalked up largely to decreasing demand for the Chevrolet Cruze that is built in Ohio, both GM and Ford pointed to rising commodity costs as the chief culprit causing bottom-line declines.

At GM, second-quarter operating profit for North America declined to $2.7 billion from $3.5 billion a year earlier. That’s hardly the sort of doldrums the auto industry faced a decade ago, when a government rescue kept GM afloat and the impact was felt locally as GM’s Bowling Green Assembly Plant reduced its employment to below 500.

Now cruising along with about 1,000 employees (including 800 hourly workers), the Corvette plant sports a massive new paint shop and other upgrades. But could pricing pressure from the tariffs bring about a 2008-like slump for the sports car?

Not likely, according to one industry analyst.

“I think the Corvette should be fairly insulated from these tariffs,” said Jeremy Acavedo, an analyst with Edmunds.com, which has been tracking trends in the auto industry since its beginnings as a print publication in 1966. “The Corvette does have a little bit of an export market, but it’s a vehicle that shouldn’t take a big hit from tariffs.”

The analyst said GM is “trying to figure out how to navigate the waters in this new environment,” but he doesn’t foresee the Corvette taking a hit like the Cruze and other mid-priced cars.

With a retail price tag starting in the $57,000 range, the Corvette attracts buyers who are less concerned with price than with style and performance.

“It (the tariffs) could have some impact on prices,” Acevedo said. “But one of the things with the Corvette is that it does command a premium already. I expect the tariffs to affect vehicles with less of a margin.”

Now rolling out 2019 models that include the 755-horsepower ZR1, the Corvette plant may be further insulated by where it buys its raw materials. When the tariffs were first announced, the plant’s communications manager, Rachel Bagshaw, released a statement that said the plant buys 90 percent of its steel from U.S. suppliers.

“In the near term, there will be little impact to us from the tariff itself,” Bagshaw said.

Long-term contracts should also help the Corvette plant weather the tariff storm, according to Bagshaw.

“We will be impacted by any general U.S.-sourced steel price increases, but we do not expect a material impact given the majority of our contracts are longer-term,” she said. “And for any longer-term impact, we have shown we have the ability to adjust and adapt to a variety of market changes around the world.”

– Follow business reporter Don Sergent on Twitter @BGDNbusiness or visit bgdaily news.com.