The United Auto Workers union campaigned difficult against Trump last year but is supportive of his trade jobs, saying they will stop the “free trade devastation”.
UAW put “free deal” in quotation marks because unions, like the Trump administration, argue that additional countries do not really practice it and that they often employ their own import duties, pay workers less than the U. S. minimum wage, or support exports to improve their personal economies at the expense of U. S. manufacturing.
” Volkswagen makes 75 % of their North America product in Mexico for$ 7 an hour, and over 40 % of their U. S. sales are produced by workers earning poverty wages in Mexico”, UAW’s statement said. ” That shift should be restored immediately as production shifts back to the U. S”.
Trump has been courting Rust Belt union voters since his 2016 campaign, and UAW’s praise of his tariffs indicates that effort is expanding.
” The Trump administration has made history with today’s actions”, UAW President Shawn Fain said. ” The UAW and the working class in general couldn’t care less about party politics, working people expect leaders to work together to deliver results”.
In pledging to work across party lines, Fain echoed sentiment similar to Teamsters boss SeanO’Brien, who spoke at last summer’s Republican National Convention and played a role in boosting former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer to the labor secretary post. Both major labor unions have been growing more friendly with Trump in recent months after spending decades in the Democratic camp.
Trump’s announcement could upend the international auto industry as he seeks to bring more manufacturing jobs to the United States, saying that foreign car companies can also avoid tariffs if their cars are built in America.
Trump announces new 25 % tariffs on auto imports
The news has delighted auto unions, but some pro-business and libertarian-leaning groups recoiled, saying tariffs would be harmful to the economy.
” Looking for a good example of government waste, fraud, and abuse”? the Cato Institute’s Tad DeHaven wrote of Trump’s trade war. ” The time the Trump administration is spending upending global trade is a waste, the rationale for it is a fraud, and forcing taxpayers to cover the damage is downright abuse”.
