'An unjustified attack on the auto industry:' Unifor Local 444 president responds to U.S. tariffs

CBC News

· Posted: Mar 29, 2025 10:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 minutes ago

The president of Windsor's largest car national is responding to quality of caller U.S. tariffs connected Canadian-made autos heading stateside.

James Stewart of Unifor Local 444 spoke with CBC's Amy Dodge connected Windsor Morning Friday, calling the tariffs "an unjustified onslaught connected the car manufacture present successful Canada."

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an enforcement bid Wednesday imposing a 25 per cent tariff connected finished vehicles imported into the U.S.

The tariffs spell successful effect April 2.

Hundreds of thousands of Canadian jobs are tied to the car sector.

It's Canada's largest manufacturing manufacture and the country's 2nd largest export to the US, aft oil.

And astatine the bosom of it each is Windsor, the automotive superior of Canada.

What's your absorption to President Trump really moving guardant with these tariffs?

You know, the absorption hasn't changed. The information is, it's an unjustified onslaught connected the car manufacture present successful Canada. We are not a jurisdiction that has stolen jobs from the United States successful immoderate shape, mode oregon form.

The facts are, we person mislaid jobs conscionable similar the United States has to little paying jurisdictions, to jurisdictions that don't connection the aforesaid types of healthcare benefits, the aforesaid wellness and information regulations. We've seen the aforesaid issues. And this truly is an unjust attack, and I deliberation it's going to impact the American idiosyncratic successful the car industry, and it's going to impact the Canadian idiosyncratic successful the industry, some successful antagonistic ways. It's going to beryllium precise pugnacious clip if this comes to fruit.

Yeah, tin you stock immoderate stories oregon concerns you've been proceeding from your members?

Well, each of our members are concerned. … Right now, it's astir apt a cleanable balance. The magnitude of cars we merchantability to the States is the aforesaid magnitude that we bargain from the United States crossed Canada. And our workers cognize that. So they cognize that, you know, without the income successful the States, and if tariffs spell into play, they cognize their jobs are astatine risk. They cognize the plants are astatine risk. They cognize it could hap fast.

What astir their intelligence health?

Well, that's terrible erstwhile you … don't cognize what the aboriginal holds. There's this unreality hanging implicit you that you can't control. … There's thing they tin bash but beryllium backmost and ticker and anticipation for the champion and anticipation that there's a way, a path, to beryllium recovered done this.

They each privation to marque a bully wage. They're bully astatine their jobs … And this is truly devastating.

It feels similar the extremity posts conscionable support shifting, making it hard to benignant of support up with the ever changing treatment astir tariffs betwixt the U.S. and Canada. What has it been similar for you successful your presumption astatine the bosom of Canada's car industry?

You're right. The extremity posts person moved. This is not astir fentanyl. It's not astir amerciable immigration. That's conscionable the avenue helium uses to interruption the agreements we person successful place. It's astir the 51st state. It's astir our earthy resources, astir our car industry, it's astir what helium … sees arsenic unfair commercialized balance.

And each time, there's a counterpoint oregon thing that defeats his argument, there's a caller argument. So it's really, truly been difficult. … It's hard to negociate erstwhile the extremity posts support moving.

What person you heard astir Stellantis' effect to the upcoming tariffs? Any thought of however they're preparing?

The Detroit 3 generally, on with each the automakers, person been gathering with [U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard] Lutnick. They've been gathering with the United States, trying to marque definite they recognize the industry, however the manufacture is interconnected, however this volition impact the United States, Canada, Mexico, each the aforesaid way. … I deliberation they're inactive having those meetings trying to fig things out.

We've met with them. We've made definite it's wide to them that the footprint successful Canada has to remain, that they person to beryllium committed to their employees and our members successful Canada. … They're responsive to it. They recognize it. But, you know, they're trying to fig the messiness retired arsenic well.

Yesterday we heard that Ontario's premier is expecting … the US to easiness the car tariffs. And aboriginal we heard that … it wouldn't use to vehicles that were much than 50 per cent made successful the US, and they would commencement with a 12.5 per cent tariff. And past Doug Ford said that Lutnick claims the little tariff volition debar works closures successful Canada. I'm conscionable wondering what that each means. … Are you convinced that a little tariff volition support the plants open? 

No.

The occupation is, it's precise unclear. They're talking astir the percent of the conveyance that has American parts won't beryllium taxed. The different parts of the conveyance volition beryllium taxed. It's a precise analyzable equation. 

If you look astatine the United States, there's not a conveyance built implicit determination – not 1 conveyance – that is 100 per cent U.S.-made – not adjacent the Teslas that they're bragging astir retired of Elon Musk's plants successful Texas and California. …. But a Canadian conveyance gets – whether it's five per cent oregon whether it's 25 per cent — it's inactive going to rise the outgo of those vehicles, and consumers are going to look elsewhere.

Do we cognize however overmuch of the Pacifica oregon the Chargers are really made successful the US versus present successful Windsor?

The institution has those records. We don't person that. … We person tier 1 assembly plants successful Canada — quite a fewer of them that provender the plant. But each the smaller parts that spell into that travel from each implicit the place. So the lone ones that would beryllium capable to find that is really the OEMs. .