Trump's Canada, Mexico tariffs try to 'stop the bleeding' in US economy: UAW chief

President Donald Trump's tariffs on Canada and Mexico are an "attempt to stop the bleeding" in the American economy, United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain told "This Week" on Sunday in defense of the controversial measures.

"We're in a crisis mode in this country," Fain said, suggesting America's trade system is "broken" and in need of drastic reform. "We're in a triage situation," he added.

Tariffs "aren't the end solution," Fain explained, "but they are a huge factor in fixing this problem."

"Tariffs are an attempt to stop the bleeding from the hemorrhaging of jobs in America for the last 33 years," Fain said, suggesting the U.S. had lost "millions of jobs" since the inception of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994.

"NAFTA sucks," Fain said.

"The United States is the market everyone wants to sell in and we should have reciprocal trade laws where people have the same standard of living," Fain continued.

"Our neighbors to the south -- Mexican workers -- aren't the enemy. They're being exploited and it's because of corporate greed, and that's what's got to stop," he said.