It is a rush transcript. Copy might not be in its closing kind.
AMY GOODMAN: President Donald Trump threatened new and even increased tariffs on China Monday after imposing extreme tariffs towards practically all U.S. buying and selling companions and rattling monetary markets for days. Trump instructed reporters Monday throughout a gathering with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu within the Oval Workplace, quote, “We have now many, many nations which might be coming to barter offers with us,” unquote.
Democrats like Senator Chris Murphy have known as the sweeping tariffs, quote, “a instrument to attempt to compel pledges of loyalty,” unquote. Impartial Senator Bernie Sanders has mentioned, quote, “We want a rational and well-thought-out commerce coverage, not arbitrary actions from the White Home,” unquote.
In the meantime, the tariffs have assist from some within the labor motion, together with one of the crucial progressive unions within the nation, the United Auto Staff. Trump invited about two dozen autoworkers to his so-called Liberation Day government order signing final week, when he introduced then new tariffs and referred to them many occasions.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: American steelworkers, autoworkers, farmers and expert craftsmen, we have now a number of them right here with us at present. They actually suffered gravely. They watched in anguish as international leaders have stolen our jobs, international cheaters have ransacked our factories, and international scavengers have torn aside our once-beautiful American dream.
AMY GOODMAN: Because the financial impression of Trump’s tariffs performed out, United Auto Staff President Shawn Fain outlined attainable advantages they could have for the auto business in an interview with CBS’s Face the Nation earlier than Trump outlined the tariffs.
SHAWN FAIN: Nicely, all it’s a must to do is have a look at the historical past of the USA, particularly in auto manufacturing within the final 30 years, with the inception of NAFTA and unfair commerce legal guidelines. We’ve seen over 90,000 manufacturing amenities depart the USA. We’ve seen, within the Large Three alone within the final 20-plus years, 65 vegetation have closed. You realize, and so, look, tariffs aren’t the overall answer. Tariffs are a instrument within the toolbox to get these corporations to do the fitting factor. And the intent behind it’s to convey jobs again right here.
AMY GOODMAN: As staff brace for uncertainty and fallout from Trump’s tariffs, we’ll converse in a minute with a UAW member, an autoworker in Michigan. First, that is an autoworker organizer in Mexico he put us in contact with named Israel Cervantes, who helped discovered the Nationwide Impartial Union for Staff within the Automotive Business. He’s a former Normal Motors employee. The 2 organized collectively in 2019, when Mexican GM staff refused to work additional time whereas GM staff within the U.S. had been on strike. Cervantes defined how Trump’s tariffs will impression Mexican staff.
ISRAEL CERVANTES: [translated] At the moment, we see this improve in tariffs that’s going to have a big impression on the financial system, export, competitiveness and employment, as a result of by including this tariff, corporations will earn somewhat bit lower than they had been incomes by exporting models — on this case, within the automotive business. Nevertheless, it is going to even be affected by upcoming labor cuts, which is able to have an effect on the financial system of many households in Mexico. It additionally impacts competitiveness, as a result of it will likely be a number of competitors between staff in the USA and Mexico, and even Canada, with these tariffs, particularly since we’re a part of the USMCA, the free commerce settlement. So we see it as a mistake or as an unfair imposition. It would significantly have an effect on each or all three nations.
Concerning Trump’s insurance policies, we’re positively going to see how staff will start to battle amongst ourselves, pondering that in Mexico we’re taking jobs away from folks in the USA. So, crucial factor at present is that unions at the moment current in these nations unite in solidarity to enhance these insurance policies, remove these insurance policies, and unite towards this president, towards these selections he’s making that may solely negatively have an effect on the three nations.
AMY GOODMAN: That’s Mexican autoworker Israel Cervantes, sitting in entrance of an indication that mentioned “GM.” Trump’s tariffs will impression the overwhelming majority of nations on this planet, one thing like 185 nations and territories.
For extra, we go to Warren, Michigan, to Sean Crawford, a UAW Native 160 member who works for Normal Motors, as properly, and is becoming a member of us on his break. His new piece for Labor Notes is headlined “Will Trump’s Tariffs Be Good for Auto Staff?”
Sean, welcome to Democracy Now! You start your piece speaking concerning the man we simply heard, the GM autoworker in Mexico, Israel Cervantes. Are you able to inform us his story after which reply, properly, to your personal query, the headline of the way it will have an effect on staff from the U.S. to Mexico?
SEAN CRAWFORD: Good morning, Amy. Joyful to be right here speaking with you at present.
Israel Cervantes is a person I’ve a deep respect for. He, unprompted, went on mainly a small-scale strike by refusing additional time, by refusing to provide Normal Motors’ most worthwhile autos, the massive vehicles that I, on the time, was additionally constructing at Flint Truck Meeting. And I believed this was only a fantastic gesture of worldwide solidarity, completely unprompted and uncoordinated, simply just about executed out of a spirit of solidarity. And it actually flies within the face of, you realize, the damaging narrative a number of of us have about Mexican staff taking jobs and never caring about their fellow staff in the USA. And so, I at all times return to that for a sense of inspiration and solidarity.
And so far as will the tariffs profit staff within the U.S., actually, it stays to be seen. I feel a number of the proof thus far factors to no. And like I point out within the article, there’s an outdated truism in bargaining that you simply actually can solely consider one thing when it’s in writing. And constructing large vegetation in the USA will not be in writing. Nobody has agreed to it but. No firm has damaged floor on any new amenities. That is one thing that must be executed with cautious consideration of logistics and investments and the longevity of such a enterprise. And Trump is a very impulsive and erratic president, and I doubt that can be comforting sufficient for any firm to wish to break floor on one thing as massive as a brand new manufacturing facility.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Sean, I wished to ask you, when it comes to — Trump is saying that the tariffs will assist American staff by boosting U.S. business, and particularly the auto business. However the actuality is, from the analysis that I’ve seen, in 1950, on the top of U.S. energy, this nation was producing 80% of all of the vehicles on this planet. Just lately, in 2023, we had been producing solely 11% of all of the vehicles on this planet, whereas China is now producing 30% of all of the vehicles manufactured on this planet. And with regards to electrical autos, of the 14 million electrical autos registered worldwide in 2023, 60% of them had been registered in China. It is a beautiful superiority in Chinese language manufacturing that’s been a long time within the makings. It’s not simply a few years. How will these tariffs presumably reverse this development?
SEAN CRAWFORD: Nicely, I imply, it’s a must to remember that the heyday of the American auto business was post-World Warfare II, when a big portion of our competitors was mainly bombed into the filth. And barring one other world conflict that leads to one thing like that, heaven forbid, I doubt we’re going to be fairly in the identical place as we had been again within the Fifties.
And there’s additionally one other issue that individuals usually fail to contemplate, is that the factor that made these manufacturing jobs so fantastic again within the day — and I take advantage of “fantastic” form of frivolously, as a result of, actually, many manufacturing jobs are fairly terrible, horrible, dehumanizing, soiled, harmful, and lead to main accidents, and I can converse to that from private expertise. However nonetheless, the factor that made these jobs nice and the factor that made America nice at the moment, the heyday of America post-World Warfare II, was a robust labor motion. And so as — you realize, even when we do find yourself bringing again all these shiny new factories, except these staff are unionized into militant, impartial unions that demand the worth of their labor that’s being extracted, we’re by no means going to get again to something remotely near that.
After which, on high of that, you realize, we have now to contemplate the truth that automation and AI is a big presence in our financial system at present. Until we deal with that and the consequences of automation and the truth that a lot extra work is being executed by robotics now — you realize, the place it used to take an entire line of staff to do one thing, now one robotic will do the identical quantity of labor — except we are able to determine a means as a society to determine what is completed with the merchandise of that automation course of and the worth that it’s creating, we’re by no means going to see that stage of prosperity once more.
So, the dialogue actually must go additional away from — you realize, I hate listening to — they’re at all times harping on foreigners, foreigners, foreigners. However what concerning the capitalists which might be exploiting our labor? What concerning the capitalists which were screwing us over for all these years? It’s not foreigners, however it’s the folks with cash that shipped our jobs abroad.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Nicely —
SEAN CRAWFORD: You realize, these staff in Mexico and Canada — go forward.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Yeah, Sean, simply to comply with up on that, on that problem, a part of the issue when it comes to producing vehicles right here in the USA vis-à-vis in different nations, that will get little or no consideration, is that many different nations, together with Canada, have nationwide medical insurance, so the automakers don’t truly must pay for the medical insurance of their very own staff, whereas right here in the USA with our privatized healthcare system, that falls on the automakers. I’m questioning your ideas about how the auto business might develop into extra aggressive, and different producers, if we had nationwide medical insurance or some type of government-paid medical insurance.
SEAN CRAWFORD: Nicely, I’m glad you requested me that. That’s, actually, one thing I really feel very robust about. It’s one thing that I wish to see not solely to make our business aggressive, however only for the financial well-being and happiness of the populace. You realize, anybody who lives within the industrial Midwest who’s seen the destruction of our communities over the past 40 years, to go from, per capita, one of many richest locations on this planet, the place staff truly shared within the wealth they created, to one of the crucial impoverished, the place deaths of despair are frequent, everyone knows that the employers aren’t essentially essentially the most dependable companions. They use us up, and so they spit us out when it’s handy for them.
And so, not having healthcare that’s reliant in your employer can be a sport changer, not just for competitiveness with Canada, but additionally — as if that’s actually a objective that I’m on the lookout for, which it’s not; you realize, what I would like is solidarity with Canada — however it will be a boon for our high quality of life, our freedom to have the ability to select a job or to begin a enterprise of our personal or, you realize, actually simply have freedom and a great high quality of life.
AMY GOODMAN: Sean, I do know it’s a must to return to work in a minute, however I wished to ask you a few level that you simply make that’s essential. Two fast questions. You write, “My proposal can be to tax or tariff solely these autos and elements (each home and international) which might be produced in amenities that violate staff’ rights.” In case you can discuss that, after which additionally, the place you differ from Shawn Fain, the president of your union, the United Auto Staff?
SEAN CRAWFORD: Nicely, so far as strategic tariffs, like, I’m not against tariffs, and I’m not against defending our business. However what I wish to see is a safety of the working class. Proper? As a result of it’s not all about me, me, me. It’s not all about conserving the foreigners out. In case you’re an American, like myself — my dad is from Poland. You realize, folks come from all around the world to develop into Americans. I’ve no drawback with my Mexican brothers and sisters or my Canadian brothers and sisters. What I wish to do is, if we’re going to penalize corporations for producing issues the way in which we don’t wish to, how about — you realize, attempt to think about what it will seem like, a very pro-worker tariff coverage. You realize, what would empower the working class? What would strengthen the working class? And to me, what would most strengthen the working class is by punishing corporations that battle unions, like Elon Musk’s Tesla, for instance. In case you’re an anti-union firm, for those who exploit labor, we’re going to penalize you, we’re going to tax you, we’re going to tariff you, till you, you realize, truly respect your staff’ rights and their capacity to arrange.
And so far as the place I differ from Shawn Fain — I supported Shawn Fain within the election, and I feel he’s executed a incredible job as UAW president. That mentioned, I don’t assume Trump’s tariff insurance policies are in the most effective pursuits of the working class as an entire. And I would love to see the tariffs utilized rather more strategically, in a means that encompasses a mentality of solidarity, brings us nearer collectively and doesn’t divide the working class, as a result of I’ve gotten to know over time brothers and sisters from Mexico and Canada, and I’ve an excessive amount of respect for them. And I wish to see us develop collectively as a working class and as a world labor motion, so we are able to tackle these corporations, that are additionally world, as a result of simply having a nationalistic viewpoint has not been working for us and has resulted in a number of these layoffs that we’ve skilled all through the years.
AMY GOODMAN: Nicely, Sean Crawford, we wish to thanks for utilizing your break to speak to us, as you might be in Warren, Michigan, working on the Normal Motors plant. Sean is UAW Native 160 member in Michigan. His latest piece for Labor Notes, we’ll hyperlink to, “Will Trump’s Tariffs Be Good for Auto Staff?”
Subsequent up, the Supreme Court docket has paused a court-imposed order for the U.S. to convey residence a Maryland father who was mistakenly flown — that admission from the Trump administration — to a supermax jail in El Salvador. We’ll converse with the household’s lawyer and go to San Salvador to look extra carefully at this infamous supermax jail that’s jailing tons of of immigrants and asylum seekers despatched from the USA. Again in 30 seconds.
