2025 State of the Region Panel: Tariff Causes and Effects

• Industry leaders are asking for a clear “end game” explanation of the North American tariff bumps.
• Mending relationships with Canada and other international partners may take years due to the current harsh rhetoric around the new tariffs.
• The U.S. and industry leaders must remain strong with its current international allies to combat China’s competitive advantages successfully.

Following the Detroit Regional Chamber’s 2025 State of the Region data presentation from Sandy K. Baruah, he joined a panel with Ambassador Colin Bird, former Michigan Gov. James Blanchard, and Aida Dismondy. Moderated by Devin Scillian, the conversation centered on one of Michigan’s most pressing issues that would impact the state of the Detroit Region: automotive tariffs.

Throughout the conversation, the panel discussed the upcoming implementations of the April 2 tariffs, noting that they are not designed with Michigan’s signature industry in mind and will make it more difficult to do business with other countries, including U.S. allies.

“We are in a period of yo-yo tariff policy, which in itself is incredibly disruptive to folks who are having to manage across the border,” Bird said. “This is not a Michigan policy. This is a ‘made-in-Washington’ policy, and we need to work together to protect this Region together.”

“What I don’t understand [is] the logic of [the tariffs to extend the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act],” Baruah said. “In order to do those tax cuts, we need to raise the taxes [in tariffs]. I don’t understand how the tax cuts are beneficial when we’re creating [taxes] over there … what are the price increases going to do? It’s going to suppress demand.”

Blanchard and Dismondy even suggested that President Donald Trump is receiving bad policy advice from those closest to him.

“What’s happened here is our leaders in Washington have created an imaginary universe … the facts are simply not there,” Blanchard said. “I’m saying that this rife with Canada is made up … we use [tariffs] all the time, but selectively. … all of our presidents used them, but not this widespread.”

“When there’s a risk to a country’s economy or sector, countries have always had protections [through tariffs] … but not to this extent … where [policy worldwide] is being shaken to the core,” Dismondy said.

Baruah also discussed the Chamber’s letter to the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, and the U.S. Trade Representative, calling for a reconsideration of implementing harmful tariffs that will damage the state’s automotive industry and economy. Given the time it takes to build manufacturing plants, Baruah noted that the timeline of “long-term gains” does not line up with the length of President Trump’s second term in office.

“When I talk to people close to the president, the [Trump] administration … it’s ‘we’re going to bring manufacturing back here.’ Tell me that’s going to happen in a political cycle because the best-case scenario, it takes three to four years to build an automotive plant,” Baruah said. “So how is the administration, from a political standpoint, [going to] withstand the unemployment that’s going to happen?”

The panel also discussed UAW President Shawn Fain’s recent approval of the tariffs, which they view as a membership-related move rather than one that would significantly impact the automotive industry. Blanchard spoke about his differences with Fain, who is also a personal friend.

“I think [Fain is] hoping the promises of the president will be realized sooner than later, and I’m worried that they won’t at all because they’re all based on imaginary scenarios,” Blanchard said. “But it’s hard to fault the leader of the group to want more members.”

While Dismondy advised the automotive industry to have its suppliers as allies during these times, she and Bird believe it will take the U.S. many years to disentangle itself from the implications caused by the tariff rhetoric.

“Right now, we’ve created a complete uncertainty on how the U.S. does business around the world,” Dismondy said. “The next [presidential] administration that comes in will have to do damage control; the one after that will wait for the effects of the damage control … from a people-to-people [perspective], we continue to have those relationships, nonetheless. From a trade perspective, I’m not sure right now.”

“We have been working since the last Trump administration … on bringing back supply chains to North America that we need to compete,” Bird said. “We are in the first lap in an Olympic marathon to save our manufacturing sector … against China … when we say ‘no’ to Canada, we’re saying ‘yes’ to China.”