Many American businesses are bracing for higher costs after President Donald Trump levied wide-ranging tariffs this spring, a move that economists have largely panned. But for workers in southeastern Michigan, the heart of the U.S. automotive industry, the story is a little more complicated. Here, manufacturing is “our lifeblood,” according to Sean Crawford, a skilled trades apprentice at General Motors’ Warren Tech Center in suburban Detroit.
A Trump critic, Crawford is mostly skeptical that tariffs will lead to more or better jobs. But Crawford’s co-workers have generally welcomed tariffs on foreign auto manufacturers, he said. As a third-generation autoworker, he understands the appeal. “They’re just happy something is being done,” he said.
