UAW says tariffs 'are necessary': Donald Trump

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Despite announcing a month-long tariff exemption for the “Big Tree” automakers, U.S. President Donald Trump took to social media Friday morning to say he has the backing of the United Auto Workers union to invoke tariffs.

In a Truth Social post, Trump wrote: “The head of the United Autoworkers of America just stated that TARIFFS ARE NECESSARY to correct years of abuse of the USA by other countries and companies. We have lost 90,000 factories and plants since the beginning of NAFTA. HE IS 100% CORRECT!!!”

The U.S. president had announced a 30-day pause from U.S. tariffs for Ford, Stellantis and General Motors in Canada and Mexico on Wednesday – a day after sparking a North American trade war with widespread 25% tariffs on most imported goods going into effect.

In a statement Tuesday, the UAW said the union was “glad to see an American president take aggressive action” against free trade which it says hurts the working class.

“We want to see serious action that will incentivize companies to change their behaviour, reinvest in America, and stop cheating the American worker, the American consumer, and the American taxpayer,” the UAW, which represents approximately 370,000 members, added in its statement.

The union’s position differs from comments made by Unifor and the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association, which say tariffs hurt consumers and workers.

“These tariffs will hurt working people with higher prices for everyday goods, destroy jobs on both sides of the border and have devastating consequences for highly integrated manufacturing sectors, including auto, across Canada and the U.S.,” Unifor president Lana Payne said in a statement.

Flavio Volpe, the president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association, had warned that the tariffs won’t lead to increased investment by the U.S. auto industry.

“People don’t reinvest based on the whim of the president of the United States. He’s destabilizing the market in the U.S. People will have lower disposable income, the cost of money’s going to go up. Nobody’s looking to invest,” Volpe told BNN Bloomberg on Wednesday.