UAW's Shawn Fain On Trump's Tariff-pocalypse

The leader of one of America’s largest unions says that inflation concerns are legitimate but argues that it’s time to end the era of free trade.

The president of one of America’s largest industrial unions made headlines last month when he declared that some of Trump’s tariffs are the beginning of the end of a trade policy that has harmed America’s working class. On this episode of Lever Time, David Sirota speaks to United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain about blue-collar workers’ experience with 30 years of existing free trade policies.

Transcript:

SNIP
So for those who have never heard of it, make your case about how exactly NAFTA and other tariff free trade deals, in your view, harmed auto workers, other manufacturing jobs. And it dovetails with what's on your what's on what's on your shirt, right now, Ross Perot was right. So why was Ross Perot, right? And what is exactly your analysis, for people who don't remember, maybe, maybe not know the details of things like NAFTA?

Shawn Fain 5:51
Yeah. I mean, look, it's, it's completely, you know, decimated the manufacturing base in this country, and it's a big reason, in my opinion, why we have the situation politically we have right now. Look, when I grew up in Kokomo, Indiana, you know, there was, you know, GM was a major employer there, as it was a child growing up, most of my family worked there, my grandparents, two of my grandparents, aunts and uncles. And, you know, it was 15 to 17,000 jobs in GM, just in my small town in Kokomo, Indiana at that time. And you know, when NAFTA was put in place in the you know, 1993 1994 you know, you started to see those jobs disappear and and not just there, all over. I mean, you talk about the Midwest, all over this country. I mean, since nafta's inception in 94 you know, over 90,000 manufacturing plants have disappeared in this country, you know. And that's, you know, when you talk about auto in particular, I mean all those manufacturing jobs, every, for every the Economic Policy Institute did a study years ago.

You know, for every 100 autumn automotive jobs, there are 700 secondary jobs born out of that. And so when those 100 auto jobs disappear, 700 other jobs disappear. Now, you multiply that times millions, it's not it's not hard to see why we're in a situation we're in. Now, you know you, you talk. Look at Flint, Michigan. Look at look at Ohio. Look in Wisconsin, look in Pennsylvania. Look all over the Midwest, and really all over the country, whether it's, you know, clothing manufacturing, all those industries have just vanished, and not because of, you know, it's better for working people. And the argument of NAFTA back then, you know, was that it's gonna, you know, all these Nobel laureate economists and former presidents are all saying it's gonna be great. It's gonna create all these 400,000 jobs in America in the first year. It's gonna raise the standard of living for Mexican workers and American workers. And everything that played out is exactly the opposite.
remainder: https://www.levernews.com/uaws-shawn-fain-on-trumps-tariff-pocalypse-transcript/

President Biden used tariffs smart, strategically...a significant difference compared to the grifter in chief.


FACT SHEET: President Biden Takes Action to Protect American Workers and Businesses from China’s Unfair Trade Practices
President Biden’s economic plan is supporting investments and creating good jobs in key sectors that are vital for America’s economic future and national security. China’s unfair trade practices concerning technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation are threatening American businesses and workers. China is also flooding global markets with artificially low-priced exports. In response to China’s unfair trade practices and to counteract the resulting harms, today, President Biden is directing his Trade Representative to increase tariffs under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 on $18 billion of imports from China to protect American workers and businesses.
https://www.commerce.gov/news/fact-sheets/2024/05/fact-sheet-president-biden-takes-action-protect-american-workers-and