The anxiety level was riding high Monday at Windsor\u2019s Assembly Plant leading up to the announced delayed tariff war<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very tight in there today. It\u2019s different.\u201d said Brad Smith, a member of the trim launch team<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The build-up caused by U.S. president Donald Trump\u2019s threat of tariffs instilled fear into the automotive sector<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEspecially after just coming out of inflation and recovering from COVID, it makes it very hard to earn a living and raise your family the way you\u2019re used to,\u201d Smith told CTV News<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unifor Local 444 President James Stewart said if the tariffs go into effect, we will see a domino effect, starting with a slow down in sales for cars built in North America<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd that could lead to short shifting and layoffs and other things, so the threat is absolutely real,\u201d said Stewart<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stewart added he hasn\u2019t warned his membership because the tariff dialogue is \u201cvolatile\u201d. He told CTV News the union is working to keep the plants running for as long as possible. They are in talks with all levels of government to ensure workers are protected as much as possible<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re exercising every part of our collective agreements that have income protection clauses in them, should we start seeing plants being idled,\u201d Stewart said<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Greg Layson, editor of Automotive News Canada, suspects automakers may have rushed shipments out of Ontario into the U.S., in order to build up inventory and prolong the inevitable<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhile it might not be immediate tomorrow, because they\u2019ve built up their inventories, at some point those chickens are coming home to roost and they\u2019re going to be paying 25 per cent more for their parts made in Ontario and their vehicles made in Ontario,\u201d said Layson, who said the cost of a car in the U.S. may go up as much as $6,000<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tariffs were put on hold Monday afternoon after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Canada would continue to implement a $1.3 billion dollar investment in security along his country\u2019s border with the U.S<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are some like Brendan Sweeney, Managing Director for Trillium Network for Advanced Manufacturing, who believe a stronger America can\u2019t be built ram tough in a day<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou could spend four or five years getting a new engine plant up and running somewhere in the United States that could make those engines and building out that whole supply chain and hiring people, but you can\u2019t do that now,\u201d Sweeney sai<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t do that in a month. You can\u2019t even do that in a year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trudeau said tariffs will be paused for at least 30 days while he and Trump continue to negotiate<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The anxiety level was riding high Monday at Windsor\u2019s Assembly Plant leading up to the announced delayed tariff war \u201cIt\u2019s very tight in there today. It\u2019s different.\u201d said Brad Smith, a member of the trim launch team The build-up caused by U.S. president Donald Trump\u2019s threat of tariffs instilled fear into the automotive sector \u201cEspecially […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":33231,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard"},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"jnews_post_split":[],"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n