The United Auto Workers (UAW) union—representing over 400,000 members primarily in the auto industry—has endorsed President Trump’s tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada, and China.

The union’s backing of Trump’s trade policies underscores his administration’s increasing appeal to labor groups, despite UAW leadership previously supporting former President Biden and later endorsing former Vice President Harris.

In an official statement, the UAW emphasized the harmful impacts that “free trade” has inflicted on their industry.

“Corporations have been driving a non-stop race to the bottom by killing good blue-collar jobs in America to go exploit some poor worker in another country by paying poverty wages. Tariffs are a powerful tool in the toolbox for undoing the injustice of anti-worker trade deals,” the union wrote in an official statement.

The UAW addressed criticism regarding the president’s tariff strategy and concerns that it may lead to higher prices for consumers.

“There’s been a lot of talk of these tariffs ‘disrupting’ the economy. But if corporate America chooses to price-gouge the American consumer or attack the American worker because they don’t want to pay their fair share, corporate America bears the blame for that decision,” the statement continued.

“The working class suffered all the pain of NAFTA, and we won’t suffer all the pain of undoing NAFTA. We want to see corporate America, from the auto industry and beyond, recommit to the working class that makes the products and generates the profits that keep this country running,” the statement added.

The union announced that they are engaged in discussions with the Trump Administration about the tariff strategy and plans to negotiate favorable trade agreements that will bring jobs back to the United States.

“We look forward to working with the White House to shape the auto tariffs in April to benefit the working class. We want to see serious action that will incentivize companies to change their behavior, reinvest in America, and stop cheating the American worker, the American consumer, and the American taxpayer,” said the statement.

The statement is particularly significant given the UAW’s long-standing support for the Democratic Party, especially former President Biden. UAW President Shawn Fain invited Biden to join striking auto workers on a picket line in 2023 and later spoke at the Democratic National Convention last year, where he criticized President Trump as an anti-union candidate.