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UAW President Shawn Fain stands in support of tariffs
Fain argues that decades of free trade deals have gutted American manufacturing jobs. (3 min. read)
Marcus Amick
March 11, 2025
President Trump has found an unlikely ally in his sweeping tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico—UAW President Shawn Fain.
The details: Fain, who supported former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, has been making the news rounds, explaining why he supports the tariffs slated to go into effect on April 2, which has drawn praise from President Trump.
Fain sees tariffs as a way of addressing the negative impact of NAFTA, the USMCA, and trade laws on American workers, by forcing companies to invest more resources in manufacturing their products in the U.S.
To illustrate his point, the UAW President consistently cites the layoff of roughly 1,100 workers at Stellantis’ Warren Truck Assembly Plant, noting that the automaker plans to shift production of one of its Ram truck models from Michigan to Mexico.
About a third of all pickup trucks sold in the U.S.—from American and foreign brands—are manufactured in Mexico and Canada.
What they’re saying: “For 40 years, we’ve seen the devastating effects of so-called ‘free trade’ on the working class. Corporations have been driving a non-stop race to the bottom by killing good blue-collar jobs in America to go exploit some poor worker in another country by paying poverty wages. Tariffs are a powerful tool in the toolbox for undoing the injustice of anti-worker trade deals,” said the UAW in a statement.
Between the lines: Fain’s position on Trump’s tariffs comes as no big surprise, given his frustration with the Detroit 3 automakers, which the UAW president has been quick to convey over the past few years.
During the 2023 contract negotiations, Fain accused Ford, GM, and Stellantis of being driven by “corporate greed,” putting profits before the need of workers, a position the UAW president maintains in his support of tariffs.
Fain’s staunch criticism of former Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, specifically regarding his U.S. manufacturing decisions, is believed to have contributed to Tavares being forced to resign in late 2024.
Why it matters: Fain is one of the few major leaders in the auto industry who has publicly spoken out in favor of the tariffs. With Fain being the head of a body that represents roughly one million American workers, who largely supported Trump during the election, the UAW president’s vocal support of the levies could encourage President Trump to stand firmer in his position on the measures.
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