UAW applauds Trump’s auto tariffs and the conclusion of the ‘free trade disaster.
The United Auto Workers (UAW) has expressed support for President Donald Trump’s announcement of new 25% tariffs on auto imports, which many view as a significant policy shift away from free trade. Despite having campaigned against Trump in the past, the UAW praised the tariffs as the beginning of the end for what they described as a “free trade disaster” that has harmed workers and the U.S. auto industry. UAW President Shawn Fain highlighted the importance of collaboration across party lines to achieve beneficial outcomes for the working class. Trump aims to bolster U.S.manufacturing jobs, proposing that foreign car companies could avoid tariffs by producing vehicles in America. While unions celebrate the move, some pro-business and libertarian groups argue that these tariffs could negatively impact the economy.
UAW praises Trump auto tariffs and end of ‘free trade disaster’
President Donald Trump earned praise from an old enemy with his Wednesday announcement of new 25% auto tariffs.
The United Auto Workers union campaigned hard against Trump last year but is supportive of his import duties, saying they will end the “free trade disaster.”
The tariffs will mark “the beginning of the end of a thirty-plus year ‘free trade’ disaster,” UAW said in reaction to the tariffs. “This is a long-overdue shift away from a harmful economic framework that has devastated the working class and driven a race to the bottom across borders in the auto industry.”
UAW put “free trade” in quotation marks because unions, like the Trump administration, argue that other countries do not truly practice it and that they often employ their own import duties or subsidize exports to boost their own economies at the expense of U.S. manufacturing.
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 Sean O’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.”
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