'Untethered from reality': Expert says Trump policy may 'tip auto industry into recession'

President-elect Donald Trump really could bring all of American auto manufacturers' production back to the United States -- but one expert warns it would likely come at a massive cost.

In an interview with the CBC, Dimitry Anastakis, a professor of business history at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, warned that waging a full trade war against Canada would severely disrupt the auto industry across the continent.

"It might help Americans and American producers, but the cost to getting there would be so tremendous that it would probably tip the North American industry into a recession," he said. "These are supply chains that have been developed for decades."

Anastakis then mocked Trump's claim that returning the entire car manufacturing chain to the United States would be a cost-free win for Americans.

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"This talking point that [Trump] had about 'We could just build them all here,' like snapping your fingers, is completely untethered from reality because of the way that the industry has evolved over the last 60 years," he said.

Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association, also shredded the idea that American auto companies could pull out of Canada completely without suffering big financial losses.

"Creating an us-versus-them context is a complete fabrication," he told CBC.