UAW Presses Lutnick to Slap Tough Tariffs on Truck Imports
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The United Auto Workers union is asking Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick to impose punitive tariffs on manufacturers of medium- and heavy-duty trucks as a means of compelling them to relocate production facilities to the United States.
Warning that the “center of gravity” for production of trucks on U.S. roads could soon shift to Mexico, the backed the use of Section 232 tariffs on trucks as well as parts as the appropriate lever to force manufacturers to reshore operations stateside.
The 1962 Trade Expansion Act allows the president to impose duties if the Department of Commerce determines that foreign goods are having a negative impact on national security.
The Trump administration is already ; the White House in April began studying whether tariffs on imports of medium- and heavy-duty trucks and parts should be imposed. Similar investigations began into critical mineral, lumber, semiconductor and copper imports, with the latter roiling markets for the base metal.
Tariffs under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act are already in place for steel and aluminum and have compelled .
Those tariffs were increased in June to 50%.
American Trucking Associations and the Chamber of Commerce in May issued a joint statement opposing the idea of Section 232 tariffs on trucks and parts, stressing that prices for fleets would jump and further crimp margins.
In a May 16 public comment filed with the Bureau of Industry and Security, the trade association added: “ATA is opposed to this investigation and does not believe that the importation of heavy-duty trucks poses a national security threat.
“Furthermore, while not part of this investigation, we are concerned that other tariffs are having a significant impact on truck manufacturers in the U.S. and thus driving up the price of trucks purchased by motor carriers,” it said.
Lutnick. (Brian Kaiser/Bloomberg)
How the proposed levies on trucks and parts would interact with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement is unclear, given most truck imports are sourced from the United States’ nearest neighbors.
Of the largest Class 8 truck makers, only Volvo Group — parent of Volvo Trucks North America and Mack Trucks — currently does not operate a Mexican manufacturing or assembly plant.
Daimler Truck North America owns two plants there: Saltillo and Santiago Tianguistenco. Saltillo, where DTNA builds the Freightliner Cascadia, opened in 2009, and Santiago Tianguistenco was commissioned in 1991.
International Motors opened its Escobedo assembly plant in 1998. A full range of the company’s Class 8 lineup is produced at the plant, according to the Traton Group unit.
Paccar Inc.’s Peterbilt unit manufactures trucks in Mexicali.
Volvo Group in April 2024 unveiled plans to build a 1.7 million-square-foot truck manufacturing plant in Mexico. This proposal drew specific criticism from the UAW in the letter to Lutnick.
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But ATA said in its public comment: “As a [USMCA] country, we do not believe Mexican truck production poses a national security risk to the U.S. In fact, truck production throughout North America is highly integrated. Even when a truck is assembled in Mexico, major components often come from factories in the U.S., like transmissions and engines. Per the USMCA, heavy-duty trucks are already required to have 64% North American regional content, with that percentage increasing to 70% by 2027.”
Current demand for Class 8 tractors is weak due to the ongoing freight recession. As a result, several truck makers have laid off production plant employees, including DTNA, Volvo and International.
President Donald Trump’s scattershot approach to trade policy — and tariffs in particular — is stoking fears of an even steeper decline in demand should consumers rein in spending amid prolonged economic uncertainty. But the UAW — alongside labor movement peers such as the International Brotherhood of Teamsters — is honing in on protectionist trade policies as a way of protecting around 19,000 current members employed in the U.S. at heavy-duty truck and bus makers.
“We thank you for initiating [the Section 232 imports] probe, and appreciate the fruitful dialogue we have established with you and the [Commerce Department] on how to get the industry back on track,” the Shawn Fain-led UAW told Lutnick in the letter.
Fain. (Mike Householder/Associated Press)
“Looking ahead to the conclusion of the investigation, we now urge [Commerce] to recommend comprehensive trade remedies that penalize manufacturers for offshoring jobs and compel the heavy truck industry to move its production back to the United States,” it added.
August preliminary North America Class 8 net orders totaled 13,200 trucks, a decline of 19% year over year, .
September is historically a key barometer for truck orders, as the first month of the typical order season.
The UAW calculates that imports account for over 40% of all U.S. Class 8 truck sales.
In a familiar refrain, the UAW accused truck makers of being more concerned with returns for shareholders, particularly through stock buybacks, than protecting U.S. consumers and workers.
“The erosion of the domestic heavy truck manufacturing base has been so profound that there is a real fear Class 4-8 truck production will hit an inflection point, moving the industry’s center of gravity from the U.S. to Mexico,” the union warned.
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“If heavy truck manufacturers want to enjoy the privilege of selling their trucks in the U.S. market, then our trade policy should do everything possible to protect good American jobs and ensure that those trucks are made here,” it added.
The union concluded: “Unless heavy truck manufacturers are forced to pay a price for moving production to low-wage countries, a continued loss of domestic jobs, skills, and industrial capacity is sure to follow. America’s workers need an end to the race-to-the-bottom free trade model. Only tariffs can sufficiently remedy this risk to our national security by compelling the industry to return production back to the United States.”
Commerce has 270 days after the investigation is announced in the Federal Register to conclude the probe, giving Lutnick and the agency’s employees until Jan. 17, 2026, to formulate a decision.
The UAW previously backed Trump administration levies on imports of passenger vehicles. The union does not provide a breakdown of how many members are employed by truck manufacturers.
