Featured Trump tariffs put the US auto industry in disarray

Best to let the UAW answer for themselves
May 15,2025
UAW president applauds Trump administration for tariffs on foreign-made cars, says it ends "free trade disaster" - CBS Detroit

In a Victory for Autoworkers, Auto Tariffs Mark the Beginning of the End of NAFTA and the “Free Trade” Disaster - UAW | United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America

... be aware the UAW is not ethical nor reasonable and only cares about what is best for them and puts money in their accounts - they could generally care less about what is good for their membership, the industries they work in and the country!

How a decade of corruption unfolded at the United Auto Workers

A Tale of Corruption by the United Auto Workers and the Big Three American Automakers | MR Online

Second UAW president sentenced to prison in union corruption probe

Shawn Fain is the current UAW President:

Federal judge orders UAW to stop obstructing ongoing investigation into corruption within Fain administration - World Socialist Web Site

UAW President Shawn Fain under investigation by federal monitor | CNN Business

 

I believe many in the rank and file want to replace fain. Again August may look very differently than may when it comes to experiencing the impacts of the tariffs.

Is UAW President Shawn Fain's job in jeopardy?

Toyota today announced the tariff's have hurt earnings byhttps://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/toyota-warns-95-billion-tariff-hit-slashes-annual-profit-forecast-2025-08-07/

We will see if the tariffs help or hurt auto workers in the long run. History says it will hurt, but UAW leadership seems optimistic. They when asked have no idea how higher costs are going to get companies to increase employment. Argentina may be the best example where it initially led to higher employment, then over a couple of years layoffs and rapid inflation, Argentia was much more dependent on imports so I would not think inflation and unemployment would be as high but what do we get for the higher taxes given.

UAW leadership and many companies are scared to say anything negative. Colbert talked about the paramount bribe and was not only fired, they canceled the show so all the hard workers will lose their jobs. Intel spoke up and trump called for the president of intel to be fired. I guess we are taking steps to crony capitalism and lower growth and higher inflation.

Check back about the failure of many small businesses in a couple of years then tell me how much you love high tariffs and giving the power to punish with them to a single man. That really is a form of socialism.

 

Outside of the USA, ICE appears to be dying. The Chinese (and others) have figured out how to make them price competitive with ICE. They have also figured out how to generate electricity price competitive with coal, natural gas, and nuclear.

ICE carries an oil price burden and other countries understand man-made global warming. It doesn't really matter what USA ICE cars are made as their customer base, outside of the USA and Russia evaporates. Shrinking markets are the death knell of buggy whips and ox carts.

Bob Wilson

 

That is a point many have made.
Let the markets speak for themselves!
Stop government intervention and incentives and common sense, fiscal/economic realities will prevail.
I, much like you bought a PHEV for the fiscal economic realities of transporting ourselves as cheaply and dependably as possible.
As someone who gardens, hikes, fishes and spends as much time as possible outside, the environmental benefits are also nice.

As I age I have also rediscovered the joys of bicycling and walking to places again - in a small town that is a refreshing way to transport yourself.
Do realize that if you are not retired these can also be time consuming methods to move yourself around.

I would make a safe assumption that in Asia and Europe the bicycle is king for transportation... I know this in Japan and England as I spent considerable time in both places and think they are reasonable representations of most of Europe and Asia.

 

But aren't tariffs government intervention?

It doesn't really matter, IMO, how the incentive or disincentive is carried out. In the end, it's the exact same thing, trying to make more people buy one thing and not another.

 

My opinion - of course Tariffs are government intervention.

The discussion begins to get interesting and multi-faceted when you begin to discuss if they level the playing field with other nations or unnecessarily restrict free global trade.

I'll plead ignorance on this as I have neither all the facts, necessary insights, and necessary economic education/training to make those type decisions on a world economic trade platform - and am not embarrassed at all to admit my lack of qualifications.

I am willing to let others who are in a position to know and get advised professionally on the facts to have a chance to do what they think is best - and see how that works out and make adjustments/changes as necessary.
I think monitoring the long-term/short-term effects/results and making adjustment/changes as necessary is a key ingredient and if necessary abandon them completely.

 

auto industry takes 12 billion dollar tariff hit:
article-toyota-95-billion-us-tariff-profit-estimate
auto-industry-trump-tariff-impact-955ca0bf

 

The discussion gets interesting for you and those of like mind because it is your opinion and perception that something needs to be protected. So for you, it's okay to restrict what many Americans would probably have no problem buying and force them to buy what you consider okay.

Those that were "forcing the market" with the "EV mandate" were also following their opinion and perception of what needs to be protected. It's the same thing: One group of people have an opinion and decide that everyone else needs to follow that and then ignore what other people feel is important.

This is why the car market is completely stupid. I can only buy whatever the American government allows me to, because that's all we are all forced to buy in the name of "liberty." If that isn't true, then where's my Renault Kagoo, Suzuki Kei truck, and BYD Dolphin? Long live the American blob car and its brother, the boxy car.

I'm not saying that there isn't an unlevel playing field. But I'm also not saying there isn't an environmental issue at play here either. And there is no guarantee that EVs will eventually clean up the environment nor that tariffs will eventually create a level playing field. And all for what? Restricting citizens to buying whatever the current administration deems as important to them, not what the other party thinks is important and definitely not what the individual would buy if he had the chance.

 

Mentioned at the very beginning of my comment -"am not embarrassed at all to admit my lack of qualifications".

My opinion - your projecting your views/misunderstandings onto someone else and using it as a starting off point to sound off on your interpretation of what is going on.

I would suspect just like most everyone else, you have no idea where all this will end up and are "baying at the moon in frustration".

 

So here's the irony. The unions hurt the Auto Workers - the auto Manufacturing corporations hurt the Auto Workers - & most never hear about that news. Whether or not tariffs hurt them? LOL that's big news.
.

 

Yes, the UAW has made a career of destroying the Industry it depends on and the jobs it provides their members.

Here's How Washington And The UAW Are Ruining The U.S. Auto Industry

Empire of Rust: How the UAW Killed Detroit - Competitive Enterprise Institute

Leaked Messages From UAW Official Reveal a Big Cause of Unions’ Decline | The Heritage Foundation
"“If we can keep them wounded for months, they don’t know what to do … this is recurring reputations damage and operation chaos.”
That leaked statement, first reported by The Detroit News, is not a military tactic nor a hostile takeover plan.
Rather, it’s a strategy for wounding and weakening American companies, with collateral damage that includes the American economy.

And it’s the strategy—expressed in a private group chat on X (formerly Twitter) by United Auto Workers communications director Jonah Furman—of an organization whose foremost mission statement is to “improve and protect” the compensation and work environment of UAW members.

The utter disconnect between the UAW’s strategy of wounding, damaging, and inflicting chaos on the companies upon which its members’ jobs and compensation prospects depend is astounding."

 

You're right, I'm not 100% certain where this will end up. And yes, the tariffs may do good, who knows.

But my main point is this, that it's hypocritical to say the government needs to stop intervening and at the same time say it's ok for the government to intervene. Either it is or it isn't.

It's slander to accuse what others have done in their attempt to make things better as being terrible but then turn around and applaud someone else doing the same thing.

In reality, either someone is for or against EV incentives and they are either for or against tariffs. And any of those views can and should be respected IMO. I'm not saying people need to see things my way.

But when someone comes out and says the government should stop intervening then that person better be against tariffs instead of saying "oh, but my exception is alright" because that's hypocrisy.

 

0K Fine - Warren Buffett is getting out for no good reason.

.

 

But we got to have our carbonated sodas.

 

Being 75 years old, I can appreciate that Warren wants to dispense his assets while he can still enjoy seeing what good they can do. Many 'robber barons' did the same in their later years like Carnegie and more recently Gates.

Bob Wilson

 

Just for a bit of perspective - thought this article would be of interest:
This is in Britian:

As new car sales flounder and used vehicle demand returns to pre-pandemic levels, it's no surprise...

The US Car Market while having individual quirks is no different than what is going on in most of the world right now.

 

It's like an IQ test; the longer some people continue to support Trump, in the face of all the evidence of economic chaos he is causing, the lower their apparent IQ.

 

.... or being from another country and posting in a forum about that home country's politics and leaders = IQ test failed.