<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class=""> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "var(--font-family-secondary)", serif;" class=""><a href="https://www.newsweek.com/its-time-put-workers-center-tariff-trade-discussion-opinion-2027534" class=""><font color="#1155cc" class=""><span style="cursor: pointer;" class="">https://www.newsweek.com/its-</span></font><font color="#1155cc" class=""><span style="cursor: pointer;" class=""><wbr class="">time-put-workers-center-<wbr class="">tariff-trade-discussion-<wbr class="">opinion-2027534</span></font></a> </span></div><div class=""><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "var(--font-family-secondary)", serif;" class=""><br class=""></span></b></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><b class=""><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "var(--font-family-secondary)", serif;" class="">It's Time To Put Workers at the Center of the Tariff and Trade Discussion <u class=""></u></span></b></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;" class="">Published</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class=""> Feb 11, 2025 at 4:23 PM EST </span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: white;" class=""><u class=""></u> <u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-family: Roboto; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class="">By </span><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "var(--font-family-secondary)", serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;" class="">Brian Bryant and David Chartrand</span></b><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-family: Roboto; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-family: Roboto; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class="">International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "var(--font-family)", serif;" class=""><u class=""></u> <u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "var(--font-family)", serif;" class="">The 600,000-member International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Union, for decades the largest aerospace and defense labor union in the U.S. and Canada, is relieved that President <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.newsweek.com/topic/donald-trump&source=gmail&ust=1739481262803000&usg=AOvVaw29zp7bjpl4QZH6h86-dTjI" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); cursor: pointer;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(247, 34, 16); border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;" class="">Donald Trump</span></a> has paused his tariff war with Canada.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "var(--font-family)", serif;" class=""><br class=""></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px 0in 15pt;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "var(--font-family)", serif;" class="">The IAM is all for the strategic use of tariffs to rebuild domestic manufacturing, enforce workers' rights, and stop trade cheating. But slapping tariffs on goods traded between the U.S. and Canada will drive up prices and cripple demand, leading to job losses in several industries across both nations.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px 0in 15pt;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "var(--font-family)", serif;" class="">When it comes to U.S. and Canadian aerospace trade, for example, the proposed 25 percent tariffs would be fatal friendly fire.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px 0in 15pt;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "var(--font-family)", serif;" class="">The proposed across-the-board tariffs would threaten the livelihoods and families of manufacturing and other workers in aerospace and defense in both nations, as well as the future of an industry vital to national security, transportation, and innovation.</span><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; color: white; text-transform: uppercase;" class=""><u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px 0in 15pt;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "var(--font-family)", serif;" class="">Our members assemble civilian and military aircraft, build missiles and rockets, and manufacture parts and components. They also provide skilled, technical maintenance, repair, and overhaul services for such equipment.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px 0in 15pt;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "var(--font-family)", serif;" class="">Our workers have already been slammed by decades of imbalanced and unenforced trade agreements and policies. We have seen mass offshoring of vital jobs in the aerospace industry, thanks to trade policies that treated workers as pawns. Millions of good-paying, high-skilled U.S. and Canadian jobs were shifted to countries where workers have little to no labor rights so wages are low and conditions are dangerous.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px 0in 15pt;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "var(--font-family)", serif;" class="">The proposed tariffs would be a direct assault on the deeply integrated supply chains that provide the backbone of aerospace manufacturing. The consequences could be devastating: production delays and lack of military readiness, increased costs and, most critically, the potential loss of thousands of IAM Union jobs in aerospace, shipbuilding, and defense manufacturing across the U.S. and Canada.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px 0in 15pt;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "var(--font-family)", serif;" class="">Why? The U.S. and Canadian aerospace industries are tightly linked. Many Canadian aircraft contain numerous U.S.-made parts. Canadian companies source components from major U.S. corporations as well as countless small- and medium-sized businesses across every U.S. state. This symbiotic relationship also means that Canadian aerospace and defense companies employ a significant number of people in the U.S.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px 0in 15pt;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "var(--font-family)", serif;" class="">Imposing tariffs on Canada would be like cutting off our nose to spite our face. It would disrupt U.S. exports, break well-established supply chains, and undermine the competitiveness of our aerospace and defense industries just as China is making historic investments to build its own air and sea capacity.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px 0in 15pt;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "var(--font-family)", serif;" class="">Indeed, according to the U.S. International Trade Administration, Canada is the second-largest destination for U.S. exports of civil aircraft, engines, and parts while the U.S. is the biggest destination for such Canadian exports.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px 0in 15pt;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "var(--font-family)", serif;" class="">The tariffs would decimate an industry that contributes more than $874 billion to the U.S. economy, and nearly $30 billion to Canada's GDP. It also supports more than 2 million American workers in good jobs worth an average of $104,577 in total wages and benefits, and 218,000 such jobs in Canada.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px 0in 15pt;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "var(--font-family)", serif;" class="">The U.S. and Canadian aerospace and defense industries are a rare bright spot—together, we export more than we import. Plus, goods trade between the U.S. and Canada is balanced if you control for Canadian oil exports. These tariffs could destroy that success.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px 0in 15pt;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "var(--font-family)", serif;" class="">Rather than engaging in short-sighted trade wars, we need a comprehensive, long-term strategy that strengthens manufacturing and prioritizes workers' interests. This reprieve offers the opportunity for workers and unions from both countries to participate in developing these solutions.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px 0in 15pt;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "var(--font-family)", serif;" class="">A new strategy requires a fundamental shift in approach.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px 0in 15pt;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "var(--font-family)", serif;" class="">We need a united front—government, businesses, industry associations, and labor—working together to forge a trade policy that benefits all stakeholders. Workers must have a voice in decisions that directly affect their lives and livelihoods, and must not be treated as bargaining chips.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px 0in 15pt;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "var(--font-family)", serif;" class="">And IAM's high-skilled and experienced workforce has a lot to contribute to creating a winning approach. We stand ready to engage in meaningful discussions with our nations' leaders, share our expertise, and work towards solutions that ensure a stable, prosperous future for U.S. and Canadian aerospace, defense, and manufacturing.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px 0in 15pt;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "var(--font-family)", serif;" class="">To defend our nations, maintain our global standing and rebuild our production capacity and resilient supply chains, we must invest in developing future generations of well-trained workers.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px 0in 15pt;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "var(--font-family)", serif;" class="">This is not just about protecting jobs. At issue is preserving and strengthening a critical sector that contributes significantly greatly to both the U.S and Canadian economies and national security.<u class=""></u><u class=""></u></span></p><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><i class=""><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "var(--font-family)", serif; border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;" class="">Brian Bryant is International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Union International President. David Chartrand is IAM Union Canadian Territory General Vice President.</span></i></div><div class=""><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div class=""><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div class="">
Arthur Stamoulis<br class="">Citizens Trade Campaign<br class="">(202) 494-8826<br class=""><br class=""><br class=""><br class="">
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