But US companies cannot make everything in the US. The industrial base was off-shored. And on-shoring means automation to be cost-effective. Which is not going to produce tons of blue collar jobs.
And that is even without tariffs.
Want to build electronics? China is somewhere in your supply chain, meaning costs will go up. Want to make a camera? Oops, the rare earths you need to add to the camera lens are not available in the US.
And who is going to buy all this US made stuff? Because all exports are taxed as well.
If the government wants to bring back industry, be more self-reliant. You do so by subsidizing certain industries, tweak tariffs on specific goods, removing red tape for the construction of specialized factories which play a key part in supply chains.
Not just put tariffs on everything and everyone and hope for the best. This is how the great depression started.
But US companies cannot make everything in the US. The industrial base was off-shored.
Sure they can, they just won’t, because it’s cheaper to make in China. And that’s the whole point of the tariffs, to level the playing field and make US manufacturing more competitive.
And who is going to buy all this US made stuff?
Americans of course. The US is still the biggest market in the world.
They literally can’t. The US has only 1(!) rare earth refinery for instance. And only 3 copper smelters. China isn’t just cheaper, and that advantage is going away as well anyway, but it also developed enormous amounts of capabilities and expertise in the last 20 years that no once can match.
And even if that’s the goal, slapping giant tariffs across the board is not going to help. Some of these industries take years if not decades to develop, specifically educated staff and billions of dollars worth of investments.
But US companies cannot make everything in the US. The industrial base was off-shored. And on-shoring means automation to be cost-effective. Which is not going to produce tons of blue collar jobs. And that is even without tariffs.
Want to build electronics? China is somewhere in your supply chain, meaning costs will go up. Want to make a camera? Oops, the rare earths you need to add to the camera lens are not available in the US.
And who is going to buy all this US made stuff? Because all exports are taxed as well.
If the government wants to bring back industry, be more self-reliant. You do so by subsidizing certain industries, tweak tariffs on specific goods, removing red tape for the construction of specialized factories which play a key part in supply chains. Not just put tariffs on everything and everyone and hope for the best. This is how the great depression started.
Sure they can, they just won’t, because it’s cheaper to make in China. And that’s the whole point of the tariffs, to level the playing field and make US manufacturing more competitive.
Americans of course. The US is still the biggest market in the world.
They literally can’t. The US has only 1(!) rare earth refinery for instance. And only 3 copper smelters. China isn’t just cheaper, and that advantage is going away as well anyway, but it also developed enormous amounts of capabilities and expertise in the last 20 years that no once can match.
And even if that’s the goal, slapping giant tariffs across the board is not going to help. Some of these industries take years if not decades to develop, specifically educated staff and billions of dollars worth of investments.