Top union claims Trump’s Japan sacrifices workers for corporate profits
On July 23, 2025, the Trump administration announced a trade deal with Japan that slashes auto tariffs to 15%—down from a crushing 27.5%—while extracting a $550 billion Japanese investment package foinfrastructure and manufacturing.
Wall Street cheered. Auto stocks soared. But in Detroit, the United Auto Workers (UAW) delivered a blistering verdict: This isn’t a deal—it’s a surrender.
The Raw Deal
“For decades, Japanese automakers have flooded the U.S. market while dodging the labor standards American workers bled to secure,” said New Jersey labor advocate Lisa McCormick, who faulted corporate Democrats for ignoring workers.
“Today’s militant labor unions are fighting back, instead of tolerating raw deals that serve the one percent,” McCormick said. “UAW President Shawn Fain isn’t just watching from the sidelines and American workers are listening to his warnings.”
Trump’s deal rewards the wealthy with lower tariffs while leaving Detroit’s Big Three—GM, Ford, and Stellantis—strangled by 25% levies on vehicles built in Canada and Mexico, and 50% on steel and aluminum.
A better deal would have held Japanese automakers to the same standards for which U.S. workers have fought: living wages, quality health care, secure retirements, job stability, and the freedom to form unions without intimidation.
The math is brutal: It will soon be cheaper to import a car from Japan than from a North American factory packed with U.S. parts.
The UAW’s fury is surgical:
- “American workers are once again being left behind,” the union declared, noting Japanese automakers’ reliance on “substandard wages, excessive temps, and union-busting” .
- Only GM has made serious reshoring efforts, while the deal “undermines business confidence” by favoring foreign producers .
- The agreement lets Japan off the hook for “living wages, quality health care, secure retirements, and the freedom to unionize”—standards UAW members fought for over decades .
The Hypocrisy Exposed
Trump’s negotiators touted the deal as a win for “reciprocity,” but the fine print reveals a rigged game.
While Japanese automakers like Toyota and Honda—which imported 500,000 vehicles from Japan last year—reap tariff relief, U.S. automakers face higher costs for cross-border supply chains.
The American Automotive Policy Council (AAPC), representing Detroit’s Big Three, called it “a bad deal for U.S. industry and U.S. auto workers.”
Even the White House’s own rhetoric collapses under scrutiny.
Trump boasted of “the largest TRADE DEAL in history,“ but the UAW countered: “We need trade deals that raise standards—not reward the race to the bottom.”
The Ghost of NAFTA
This isn’t just about Japan. The UAW warned that if this becomes the template for deals with Europe or South Korea, it will “be a major missed opportunity” to reverse decades of offshoring.
The fear is palpable: South Korea could become “the new Mexico,” a low-wage hub undercutting U.S. factories.
Meanwhile, the $550 billion Japanese investment package—touted as a jobs bonanza—is a mirage.
The funds are loans and guarantees, not direct investment, and 90% of profits will flow to U.S. coffers, not workers’ pockets.
As the UAW starkly put it: “This deal does the opposite” of rebuilding American manufacturing.
The Bottom Line
The Trump administration sold this deal as a victory. The UAW sees it for what it is: A capitulation to corporate interests at the expense of the working class.
Before Trump’s current term, the effective U.S. tariff rate on Japanese imports was less than 2%, according to World Bank data.
While shareholders celebrate, the men and women who built the American auto industry are left holding the bag—again.
Discover more from NJTODAY.NET
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.