Trump calls for reversal of Biden's 'draconian and indefensible Electric Vehicle mandate' to help striking UAW workers

Donald Trump slammed Joe Biden on Tuesday, saying that the UAW strike, which has seen workers halt production and parts distribution at dozens of factories across the midwest, is a result of his electric vehicle policies and requirements. Trump will be visiting workers on the picket line on Wednesday. 

"Joe Biden's draconian and indefensible Electric Vehicle mandate will annihilate the U.S. auto industry," Trump said, "and cost countless thousands of autoworkers their jobs. The only thing Biden could say today that would help the striking autoworkers is to announce the immediate termination of his ridiculous mandate."

"Anything else is just a feeble and insulting attempt to distract American labor from this vicious Biden betrayal. Crooked Joe should be ashamed to show his face before these hardworking Americans he is stabbing in the back. With Biden, it doesn’t matter what hourly wages they get, in three years there will be no autoworker jobs as they will all come out of China and other countries. With me, there will be jobs and wages like you’ve never seen before. Our economy will grow!" Trump said.

The Biden administration has mandated the use of electric vehicles for its federal fleet, and has taken a page from California's playbook by mandating the decline of gas-powered vehicles. "As part of President Biden’s goal of having 50 percent of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2030, the White House is announcing public and private commitments to support America’s historic transition to electric vehicles (EV) under the EV Acceleration Challenge," The White House stated in an exuberant fact sheet in April.

"In 2022, 35% of exported electric cars came from China," the International Energy Agency noted, "compared with 25% in 2021. Europe is China's largest trade partner for both electric cars and their batteries. In 2022, the share of electric cars manufactured in China and sold in the European market increased to 16%, up from about 11% in 2021." Tesla is the largest EV maker globally, but it is not a union shop. 

"The UAW supports and is ready for the transition to a clean auto industry," UAW Shawn Fain said prior to the strike. "But the EV transition must be a just transition that ensures auto workers have a place in the new economy. Today’s announcement from the Department of Energy echoes the UAW’s call for strong labor standards tied to all taxpayer funding that goes to auto and manufacturing companies."

"We are glad to see the Biden Administration doing its part to reject the false choice between a good job and a green job. This new policy makes clear to employers that the EV transition must include strong union partnerships with the high pay and safety standards that generations of UAW members have fought for and won."

"The Big Three have closed or spun off 65 plants in the last 20 years. The automakers have not yet promised job security in our ongoing negotiations. I have traveled across the country, meeting displaced workers who’ve had to pick up and move their families when plants shut down recently in Belvidere, Ill., Lordstown, Ohio, and Romeo, Mich. These new grants and loans will give plants like these a chance for federal support to ensure those jobs and communities are protected."

"The UAW looks forward to continue working with the Biden Administration to ensure a just transition for the auto workers in this country."

While the UAW is asking for higher pay, EVs are at the core of their disagreement with management. Electric cars need fewer parts to be created than gas-powered vehicles, which means they require fewer workers. The UAW likely wants to see Tesla unionized, as well as Hyundai, which also is not unionized.

Many car manufacturers, like Ford, are losing money in their EV divisions.