The Trump administration has delayed planned auto tariffs for the Detroit Three automakers by 30 days, a move Unifor says is an attempt by U.S. president Donald Trump to pressure companies into shifting production out of Canada.
Lana Payne, national president of Unifor, said the delay does little to change the precarious situation for Canadian auto workers — with the union calling it the “latest extortion tactic” by Trump.
“What changed from yesterday and what is going to change in the next 30 days? The only thing that has changed is that Trump realized his tariffs were about to bring the U.S. auto sector to a grinding halt,” Payne said. “Now he’s granting an extension to use that time to try to extract commitments from the companies to divest from Canada.”
The White House confirmed the extension applies to vehicles produced by the Detroit Three automakers that comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). However, it has not clarified whether the reprieve includes USMCA-compliant automotive parts or heavy vehicles such as buses and trucks that are not manufactured by the Detroit Three.
“As long as the threat remains, this extension doesn’t really change anything,” Payne said. “The result is another month of instability in the auto industry, another month to pressure companies to move plants, another month to try to squeeze the Canadian government.”
Unifor, Canada’s largest private-sector union, is calling on the federal government to keep all retaliatory trade measures in place during the tariff pause.
