I agree it’s comparative advantage because US companies are buying from overseas manufacturers because those goods are mostly unavailable or unaffordable in the US.
Transhipment though is considered customs fraud and easily caught. So I’d argue that is not a major reason.
Says every person in a costco, Walmart, Carrefour and etc
Those low paid low skilled jobs that developed countries lost to other countries , they don’t come back
The only way a small fraction of them would come back **is if your country became poor again!**
And automation had done away with most manufacturing jobs , just look at factories in China.
The other reasons that many factories are located in a given location is due to less environmental controls , labour, social welfare contributions , grants and low taxes, proximity to a well developed supplier base and skilled labour etc etc .
Tariffs aren’t going to supersede many of these factors.
China hits back with same level of tariffs. Market takes another dive.
When workers in the US lose good paying jobs in manufacturing what sorts of jobs do you imagine them moving on to?
The US has plenty of well paid manufacturing jobs.
My point was the lower paid jobs ain’t ever coming back. They just aren’t because a) your country would have to drop pay dramatically along with a bunch of other regulations and b) automation has been reducing manufacturing jobs already and c)why would you even want to do a or b?
And even the higher paid manufacturing jobs have limitations due to automation.
Have you ever been to America? I was a blue collar worker in Silicon Valley for eight years (tool and die maker) and left the trade because high paid tool and die jobs nearly dried up because most of them went to Asia. What jobs were left pay about the same now as they did in the early nineties when I left the trade because all they are is glorified maintenance jobs repairing tooling made in Asia. They don’t require the same skill as a true tool and die job and companies have trouble filling them because there’s no future in such work.
You don’t seem to read what I’m writing. Yeah I’ve been to America and worked in America? How about you what difference does it make lol. In fact I know MANY people in high paid manufacturing jobs in America ..hint…there are a lot of medium to high tech products in many industries that you may have little exposure to still made in America.
Maybe not, maybe yes. If supply chain reconfiguration is the plan— and it is— who knows what will come back or start up?
And who knows right now how deep the supply chain will run in the US and his much will be offshore.
Blanket statements won’t work for what’s going on here, imo.
I see MP— REE mining and magnets for EV and other higher h stuff is up big today as China just threw out some reciprocal tariffs on REE.
They won’t come back in any number because if you think about it living in America is impossible with a wage under a certain amount. The US also has labour regulations about child labour etc
Also automation has done away with most of those jobs.
And you would still be competing with some poor country somewhere even with wages significantly dropping.
It’s not about numbers— it’s about keeping domestic supply chain. Even if it’s subsidized,
Who said that though ? Do you know what Trumps plan is ?
Also do you want Americans to be paid less than they are now ?
The supply chain thing has been going on since Covid, the DoD started it.
Again— it’s not about that. It’s about being less reliant on China and other countries for essentials.
As I see it anyway /
Also:
Tamny: People Hated Working in Factories, These Jobs Aren’t Coming Back | Video | RealClearPolitics
I don’t think it’s necessary to bring manufacturing back solely to the USA. bringing it to our close enough neighbors will be fine, and maybe they might actually be able to pull themselves out of historic and generational poverty, in the cases of a few islands off the coast of Florida.
I haven’t looked at the Mexican market, or a Mexican ETF, but I should, as I think they will really benefit from this.
The largest Mexican exchange-traded fund (ETF) available on U.S. exchanges is the iShares MSCI Mexico ETF (EWW). As of April 3, 2025, EWW manages approximately $1.564 billion in net assets. This ETF seeks to replicate the performance of the MSCI Mexico IMI 25/50 Index, providing investors with exposure to a broad range of Mexican equities. It is listed on the NYSE Arca and has an expense ratio of 0.50%. etf.com+5Yahoo Finance+5BlackRock+5MarketWatch+2BlackRock+2Yahoo Finance+2
Other notable Mexican ETFs traded on U.S. exchanges include:
To summarize this thread so far:
The Trump presidency is really bad for the stock market, BUT THIS IS GREAT FOR AMERICAN WORKERS!!
Personally, I think it’s a very “interesting” approach to deliberately create a world-wide recession and hope that said recession will boost employment specifically in the US. But we’ll see…
It won’t and it can’t. It is also going to make US debt /GDP rocket.
I guarantee you many corporate boards are going to meet this week to discuss a) investments and spending to be put on hold b) where can we make cuts now that our stock price is down.
Just to make clear: “Interesting approach” was meant more in a “British-English” way 
I don’t think that is what’s happening at all. Certain industries will benefit immediately, sure, but the longer term growth and great for workers stuff is down the road.
The supply chain build up and bring back began in 2020 by Trump, Biden juiced it, and Trump is making sure it happens. One thing is that not ALL the chain has to be in the US, just closer-- Mexico and Canada will be nice, The Dominican Republic was recently in the news for medical instrument manufacturing as a part of the US supply chain, as was Puerto Rico and Jamaica, I believe.
From ChatGPT:
Since 2020, the U.S. government has undertaken several legislative and strategic actions to reshore supply chains to the continental United States.
Legislative Measures:
Department of Defense (DoD) Initiatives:
These concerted efforts reflect a comprehensive approach by both legislative and defense sectors to strengthen U.S. supply chains, enhance national security, and promote economic resilience.
China said on Friday it will impose additional tariffs of 34% on all US products from April 10, matching the extra 34% duties imposed by Trump on imports of its own goods.
At the same time, China’s finance ministry laid out other countermeasures, including controls on exports of rare earths to the US. The minerals are key inputs for several high-tech products, but are not widespread worldwide.
It also added 11 names to its “unreliable entity” list, which allows Beijing to take action to punish foreign entities.
Bejing’s move ramped up investor worries that countries are more likely to retaliate than negotiate, leading to a protracted global trade war. That sent US stocks spiraling further downward before the bell, and helped drag US benchmark Treasury yields below 4%.
There’s nothing Trump wants more than to send a very strong message to China about trade, as they seem to be the main objective. I don’t know how many countries will follow China into the cave though.
That’s the issue with so much automation. Big players, like say tesla, keep going forward with job cuts for robotics. The real question isn’t what jobs does everyone move onto, it’s what will the government do to support the rampant unemployment in the future. That’s the elephant in the room. They love to avoid discussing it.
Support small companies and entrepreneurs. Trump has already done some things, but the jury is out, and he just got started.
President Donald Trump has introduced several policies aimed at supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs, including:
Tax Reforms:
Regulatory Changes:
Trade Policies:
Access to Capital:
While these policies are designed to bolster small businesses, they have elicited mixed reactions. Tax reforms and deregulation have been welcomed by some entrepreneurs, but trade policies, especially tariffs, have raised concerns about increased operational costs and potential negative impacts on industries dependent on imports. As such, the overall effect of these policies on small businesses remains a topic of ongoing debate.
And Biden did some thing s as well-- but didn’t seem to make much headway:
>The Biden administration implemented several initiatives aimed at bolstering small businesses and entrepreneurs. These efforts yielded notable successes but also faced certain challenges:
Achievements:
Challenges:
In summary, the Biden administration’s small business initiatives achieved substantial progress in fostering entrepreneurship and providing financial support. However, challenges related to regulatory impacts, loan program management, and fraud underscored the complexities of effectively supporting the small business sector.
So, there are plans out there and surely trump will add some new ones to the pot.