tHis General Motors Flint Assembly Factory is a huge symbol of the American automotive industry, a stretch of the factory, 5m square feet, as long as the eyes can see Van Slique Road, which hums.
The plant survived decades of industrial investment into Flint, a blue-collar city in the mid-Michigan period, the country’s auto capital. The Flint Assembly remains the economic foundation of the Rust Belt region, filled with working-class swing voters who helped push Donald Trump into his second term.
It worked here as the president promised a revival of an industry that would revive towns like Flint. On the campaign trail, he promised that tariffs would achieve this goal. This week, the Customs War kicked it into higher gear. Reviews are mixed.
The automakers, small business owners and residents here say tariffs can help Flint, but many are not comforted by Trump’s accidental approach, higher prices for everyday goods, and what has been characterized as a “collective damage” for middle-income players.
“Trump plays poker, and at this point he plays poker in people’s lives,” said Chad Fabro, Secretary of Treasury (UAW) for United Autoworkers (UAW) in Flint. Even the union is a divided home. UAW President Sean Fain supports tariffs, but Fabro said he has a strong rank of 5,000 people and many of his files are considered “bulk.”
The supervisory industry is a good idea if it is well planned, Fabro added, but a sudden, full-scale tariff war “is not good for anyone because Central America suffers.”
Before Trump was partially pulled back on Wednesday, his unprecedented trade war enacted at least 10% tariffs in almost every country in the world last week, struggling China, Taiwan and Vietnam with much higher rates. The war with China escalated.
There is little disagreement about whether customs duties will increase the prices of everyday items such as clothing, electronics and groceries. Some people are estimated to cost the average US household of $3,800.
In Flint, the argument appears to be: “Is the President’s political and economic gambling worth it?”
The president’s supporters said yes and pushed forward with variations in the message. Economic pain deserves the benefits of a reconstructed world economy. Among them is Brian Pannebecker, a retired Ford employee who started working as an auto worker for Trump.
“It’s going to cause a bit of a short-term pain, but we’ll have to endure six months or years even if it takes time,” he said last week. “Workers in this country have endured for decades because they have shut down their plants.”
But there is a question among small business owners in downtown Flint that there is more pain in one of the country’s poorest big cities. Approximately 35% live in poverty.
“I think a lot of people who say they have to come from a place of privilege because it’s obviously OK next year or so, so we have to be careful about that because there are a lot of people who don’t have the same boat,” Hills co-owner Rebekah Hills said Tuesday.
Her shop imports about half of its products from countries such as the Netherlands, France and the UK. The costs of these products will rise 10% under Trump’s current plan. “It’s really awful because it’s the small business that suffers the most,” Hills added.
If a company isn’t fast enough to adapt, it will be a death blow
Tony Vau, the restaurateur
Frustration with stubbornly rising prices, especially among food, was behind the relatively powerful Trump that Flint shows in 2024 in Genesee County, where he sits. He lost around 10% here in the two elections here, but last year he closed the gap to 4%. Just north of Saginaw County, part of Michigan’s automotive industry centre, the president has driven out Kamala Harris.
Michigan Democrats are fiercely critical of free trade agreements, but they keep these things in mind and coordinate their message. Among those who support tariffs is Debbie Dingel, a representative US man, where many rank and file car personnel live in the neighborhood of Detroit.
“I think tariffs are a tool in the toolbox, so we’re competing on a level playing field with China, which subsidizes production, owns businesses and doesn’t pay decent wages,” Dingel told WDET. “But that cannot be mixed cha.”
Trump’s approach was damaging the economy, she said, but she also said that 90% of the country’s medicines are imported and it would be a good idea to oversee such production. But Dingell added, “I can’t do it overnight.”
On Wednesday, shortly after Trump pulled most of the tariffs back, Bill Barranger, a conservative Michigan political analyst, said he was not surprised by the sudden announcement. The tariff rollout wasn’t working well for Republicans across Michigan or across the country, he said. That was “too early” from the administration.
“The public understands tariffs and has his overall goals and mission, but the way he implements them seems inconsistent,” Baranger said. But he added that what that means in the 19 months after the next election is happening is everyone’s guess.
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Is Flint okay?
Alan Jackson, a retired automotive supplier, repeated the presidential line. “Why does China and everyone else use us? Why do they ruin us? I’m happy someone will stand up to it.”
Jackson dismissed the fear of higher prices and economic damage. “People are fine – it’s worth it,” he added.
But polls have shown a massive decline in Trump’s approval ratings, and people are worried about downtown Flint.
Flint Farmers Market is a local economic hub in a recycled newspaper press building that sells everything from local produce to local jerky, where half a million people shop every year.
However, many people are partially dependent on imports. Tony Vu, a local food system restaurateur and leader, is about to reopen Maman, a Vietnamese restaurant. Uncertainty creates fear of supply chain shortages, Vu says:
In particular, this tariff will be sacrificed to Southeast Asia, Latinos and other chefs of goods importing what cannot be produced here. Avocados do not grow in Flint, and Michigan is only five months old. Import is essential.
The case of fish sauce, a classic Vietnamese dish, goes from about $82 to $100 on speculation that tariffs are on the rise, highlighting another issue.
“It’s already operating on a thin margin, and it’s going to take away a really difficult industry and create more pressure,” Vu said. “If it’s not fast enough for a company to adapt, it’s going to be a death blow.”
At D’Vine Wines, which has a shelf full of French and Italian bottles, manager Aaron Larson said Tuesday he doesn’t fully know what tariffs should be made yet, but he doesn’t trust Trump. UAW’s Fabro pointed to a significant rise in Canada’s aluminum prices, which was a threat to the robust Michigan craft brewery industry. Meanwhile, his neighbor, who lives in Vassar, a countryside several miles north of Flint, grows the soybeans they sell to China.
Approximately 40% of US soybean exports were sent to China, colliding with tariffs of 84% on all US goods (later raised to 125%). They’re scary, Fabro said.
“That’s how capitalism works.”
Trump’s Pannebecker auto workers said businesses should “absorb” some cost increases, adding that the union has it both ways. He said he might have to give something.
“The market will resolve because that’s how capitalism works,” he said.
The president’s supporters trust his judgment.
“He’s a wise businessman, right? That’s why people vote for him. So I’m going to say I’ll give it a chance, but if all the costs go up, he might have to pull back at some point.”
At the UAW local hall across from the Flint Assembly factory, Fabro is unconvinced and fears layoffs. “Is that only taking a few years? OK, don’t feed your child for a few years. Sell your boat and home, and everything you worked because you want to be a negotiation tip,” he said.
