Windsor auto workers remain ‘on edge’ despite temporary tariff exemption

Windsor-West MP Brian Masse held a town hall Tuesday night, bringing up the idea of free tolls for Canadian commercial traffic on the GHIB.

A brief reprieve from U.S. tariffs is cause for a temporary sense of relief amongst the thousands of auto workers in Windsor.

President Donald Trump granted U.S. automakers a one-month exemption from the 25 per cent tariffs imposed on Canadian and Mexican goods.

For the hundreds of workers finishing a shift at the Windsor Assembly Plant on Wednesday afternoon, the pause provides four more weeks of job security.

“It’s a heavy feeling in there having this hang over top of you; a lot of people’s livelihoods are in the air,” said Richard Dutka.

“To have a pause is a nice little space to breathe, and then we’ll see what happens from there.”

U.S. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters the change came at the request of the “big three auto dealers,” Stellantis, Ford, and General Motors.

The Stellantis-owned Windsor Assembly Plant employs about 4,500 workers.

For the past seven years, Yousif Breesam has worked at 2199 Chrysler Centre.

“As soon as I heard that 30-day pause, I actually felt a relief because it gives us 30 more days to work, but at the same time, you’re just working with uncertainty,” Breesam said.

Due to the instability, Breesam has delayed plans to buy his first home. The constant “hour to hour” changes in the trade war have created uncertainty in the workforce, Breesam said.

“It’s a relief just temporarily for 30 days, but you still have that in the back of your head that it might happen,” Breesam noted.

Trump has repeatedly said automakers could avoid tariffs by moving their plants and operations entirely stateside. However, John D’Agnolo, president of Unifor Local 200, told CTV News the process won’t be that simple.

“You just can’t pick up a plant and move it to the United States. It takes years,” D’Agnolo said.

Local 200, which represents nearly 2,000 Ford employees, has not received any notice of changes in production. D’Agnolo said workers remain “on edge” despite the latest break.

“I hope what’s happening in this delay is they’re recognizing the challenges within the auto industry and the impact it will have on both sides of the border,” he said.

Industry representatives have said it would be impossible to tariff Canada without impacts to the U.S. auto sector. Auto parts cross the border several times between U.S. and Canadian plants before a finished product is put on the lot.

“I’d never want to see an individual create this type of recession because it would be a recession, [with] thousands upon thousands of people losing their jobs and then not being able to take care of their families,” D’Agnolo said.

During the 2008 financial crisis, the industry, including Windsor plants, underwent financial strain, which prompted significant layoffs. D’Agnolo said some employees waited ten years before they found themselves back on the assembly line.

“They lost everything a lot of them. I do not want to see that happen to them again. It would break my heart,” he said.

Brian Kingston, president and CEO of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturer’s Association (CVMA), also released a statement on the topic.

“The CVMA welcomes the U.S. tariff exemption provided for Canadian-manufactured vehicles and parts that meet stringent USMCA/CUSMA content requirements,” said Kingston.

“We look forward to working on a permanent solution that recognizes the integration of the North American market and reinforces the strong standards established in the USMCA/CUSMA.”

Automaker brand Ford also released a statement:

“As America’s top auto producer, we appreciate President Trump’s work to support our industry and exempt auto companies complying with USMCA.

Since President Trump’s successful USMCA was signed, Ford has invested billions in the United States and committed to billions more in the future to both invest in American workers and ensure all of our vehicles comply with USMCA.

We will continue to have a healthy and candid dialogue with the Administration to help achieve a bright future for our industry and U.S. manufacturing.”