The IAM Union is closely monitoring the impacts of ever-changing tariff policy on all IAM members, including aerospace workers who rely on heavily integrated supply chains, especially between the United States and Canada.
IAM International Affairs Director Peter Greenberg was recently featured on an expert panel webinar hosted by the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA).
Greenberg noted that the IAM represents more than 100,000 aerospace workers in both the U.S. and Canada. Aircraft and their components are often manufactured and shipped across the border several times for assembly by highly-skilled IAM members. A tariff war between the two nations puts that relationship at risk.
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“The supply chains in North America have become so integrated in aerospace that it would be very difficult for manufacturers to move to solely U.S.-based suppliers, or solely Canadian suppliers,” he said. “There is a deep well of aerospace skills, particularly in the U.S. and Canada, that allow companies to take advantage of economies of scale. The complexity of this supply chain is really hard to overstate.”
Safety could also come under the spotlight, Greenberg added.
“The supply chain and the established certification procedures that result in a safe aviation operating environment can’t just be replicated,” he said. “Replacing existing pieces of the supply chain from scratch would be time-consuming and expensive and probably also have a negative safety impact.”
The IAM Union has consistently called for the strategic use of tariffs against bad actors, like China, that ignore trade rules and labor standards.
“Canada is not an adversary—it is one of our closest allies and largest trading partners,” IAM International President Brian Bryant and Canadian General Vice President David Chartrand recently said. “IAM members demand a trade strategy that puts workers first, fosters long-term economic growth, and strengthens our manufacturing base on both sides of the border.”
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