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Vote for the candidate who creates jobs, not destroys them
Massachusetts

Vote for the candidate who creates jobs, not destroys them

As we enter the final stages of the 2024 presidential election, the economic devastation of the Biden-Harris administrations’ green, woke and inflationary policies is most clearly visible in Michigan – the nation’s auto manufacturing capital.

Michigan, home of Detroit’s three automakers, was once the world leader in automobile production. Today, these companies and the hundreds of thousands of United Auto Workers (UAW) members they employ face an existential threat.

The government has pushed ahead with its radical Green New Deal and electric vehicle (EV) mandates, pushing automakers down a dangerous path toward an all-electric car future.

Electric vehicles require up to 40% less labor to produce than traditional combustion engine vehicles. and combustion engine production is rapidly being replaced by EV batteries.

As China dominates EV battery production and the broader EV supply chain, UAW workers in Michigan are being displaced and are now at risk of extinction due to the Harris-Biden EV mandates.

Ford’s decision in 2024 to halt construction of its $3.5 billion electric vehicle battery plant in Marshall highlights this crisis. The plant was expected to produce affordable lithium iron phosphate batteries and create 2,500 jobs.

Even smaller auto parts manufacturers in Michigan are feeling the pinch. Dawson Manufacturing Company, a minority-owned business in Benton Harbor, closed in 2023 due to the decline in traditional internal combustion engine automobile manufacturing caused by the Green New Deal. This once-thriving company, which supplied parts to Ford and GM, saw its business decline because of Biden and Harris’ thoughtlessness.

Michigan’s aluminum industry, a key supplier to the automotive industry, also suffered significant setbacks. Aluminum extruders, which convert heated aluminum alloys into a variety of products, directly create nearly 40,000 jobs and indirectly support 160,000 additional jobs. But as foreign countries increasingly push aluminum products into the U.S. market, Michigan’s aluminum sector is struggling to remain competitive.

During the Trump administration, a 10 percent tariff on imported aluminum protected domestic producers. This tariff led to billions of dollars in investment in American aluminum production and protected companies from unfair competition. However, like lollipops, the Harris-Biden administration has granted exemptions from Section 232 tariffs, weakening protections for American workers.

To get around these loopholes, China has moved much of its production to Mexico and is now “offloading” duty-free imports to the US market.

Michigan’s packaging industry is another victim, particularly from runaway inflation. Georgia-Pacific, a leading cardboard box manufacturer, is closing its Milan factory for economic reasons. Graphic Packaging International closed plants in Grand Rapids in 2022 and Battle Creek in 2024.

The state’s wire industry was not spared. National Standard closed its doors in Niles in March 2024. Mayor Nick Shelton called it a “sad day” for the community that reflects the overall economic hardship across Michigan.

While the green, woke and inflationary policies of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have helped destroy Michigan’s manufacturing jobs and now threaten the auto industry with extinction, former President Donald Trump offers a clear path to job creation and Saving the US auto industry.

On day one, Trump says he will end the Harris-Biden EV mandates, restore tariffs and close trade loopholes to protect Michigan’s manufacturing workers from unfair foreign competition.

So the choice is clear. Would you rather destroy jobs under a Harris presidency or create new jobs under Trump?

Peter Navarro was director of trade and manufacturing policy under former President Donald Trump.

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