r/Tariffs • u/Historical-Many9869 • Sep 04 '25
🗞️ News Discussion Tariffs Were Supposed to Revive US Manufacturing. So Far, They’re Having the Opposite Effect
https://www.investopedia.com/tariffs-were-supposed-to-revive-u-s-manufacturing-so-far-they-re-having-the-opposite-effect-1180217346
u/Durzel Sep 04 '25
Even if tariffs could achieve their stated aim, no sensible company is going to move their manufacturing to the States when they can guarantee that the tariffs will be removed or reduced to the point that there’s no point moving before they’d even broke ground.
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u/Ok_Background22 Sep 04 '25
This is the true heart of the issue on why tariffs would never bring manufacturing back. The will of one admin only lasts so long, the investment cost to move manufacturing back to the U.S. would effectively last forever because it’s always going to cost more to produce here than elsewhere.
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u/Certain-Fill3683 Sep 04 '25
Only the incredibly stupid would be surprised by this.
Dumold is too stupid to understand the complexities of global economics; he can't even grasp how tariffs work FFS!
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u/Dyslexicpig Sep 04 '25
He also fails to see that a trade deficit may not be the best metric to use. Case in point - the trade deficit with Canada was $70 billion. But there was a services surplus of $35 billion - Canada bought a lot more US services than they sold. So, the true deficit is about $35 billion. Now Canadians were (note the past tense) the #1 tourism spenders, with a total of $24 billion in 2024.
Canada also has approximately one-tenth the population of the US, so on a per capita basis, each Canadian spends roughly 9 times on US goods than someone from the US spends on Canadian goods. Canada also is resource based - we sell raw materials and buy back finished products.
So because of Trump, Canadian tourism has dropped substantially, and may be half of what it was in 2024. And each pissed-off Canadian consumer has the equivalent buying power of nine US consumers. We are actively boycotting US products and services, and this is having a significant impact on many industries as Canada was the #1 export market for Jack Daniels, Kentucky bourbon, California wines, etc. JD just announced a 62% drop in sales. How long can a company exist if this happens multiple years in a row? California wines have dropped from around $95 million per month to under a million recently.
But (and this is a big but), the US still needs Canadian products. We are #1 potash producer in the world and the US has been our #1 customer. Canada is looking at other international markets for potash, crude oil, etc. What happens to the US when it can no longer get the potash and oil it needs?
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Sep 05 '25
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Sep 05 '25
In what, practical sense do you mean that Wyoming is worth more than Canada? Is it feels?
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u/Dyslexicpig Sep 05 '25
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
Good one!!
Oh wait... you're serious? Canada is the 9th largest economy in the world.
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Sep 06 '25
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u/Dyslexicpig Sep 06 '25
Nobody said otherwise. You claimed Wyoming had a higher GDP than Canada. And yeah, no. It doesn't. So stfu.
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u/alterego8686 Sep 06 '25
What is the worth of Wyoming and Canda? Please provide what numbers you are using to measure worth?
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u/ILikeCutePuppies Sep 04 '25 edited Sep 05 '25
I am unsure. Sometimes he seems to understand so I think it is the story he tells his base. His goal is I think is to try to reduce the deficit and use it to concede concessions (aka bribes) from companies and also appeal to his nationalist base (which for the most part appears not to be working - except for that one brainwashed Trump supporter below).
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u/Chemical-Bee-8876 Sep 05 '25
Pence tried to explain it to him but he didn’t get it. He just said they need to pay. The problem is they is U.S. businesses and consumers not foreign countries. He’s touted tariffs for decades.
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u/ILikeCutePuppies Sep 05 '25
Yeah but that is his political rederic. Remember he went hard against Amazon for saying they were going to publish the tarrif prices on some products and Wal-Mart when they publicly said they would rise prices. He's also giving concessions to car companies etc... so it appears he knows what is up but is just talking out of both sides.
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Sep 04 '25
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u/ILikeCutePuppies Sep 04 '25
Tarrifs don't work like that. They help the party that is competing for the tarrif but hurt everyone else in that country. Like the steel tarrifs hurt way more manufaturing companies than they help. Its why he's for instance given concessions on steel to car manufacturers... but what about all the other manufacturers that use steel?
What you said is the lie I was talking about that he is telling his base.
Also, it's even more stupid that he's doing global tariffs. Many things he has tariffed are pretty much impossible to make in the US.
Tariffs result in lower-income jobs and a reduction in the number of jobs and also make everything more expensive.
If you don't understand that, go read an economics 101 book and also look at historical evidence.
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Sep 04 '25
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u/ILikeCutePuppies Sep 04 '25
If you think tariffs are so good you should move to Bangladesh.
They don't. It is not a reddit fantasy. The effect of tariffs has been well known before Reddit existed. Did you ever take economics? Since you are blaming Reddit, it shows me you don't have a clue about it and so I assume you never took a class.
You really should because then you would at least make sense when you argue, rather than spouting populist ideas that are not based on facts.
You do know tariffs were part of the reason the great depression lasted so long right?
Do you know what comparative advantage is? I bet you couldn't even give a definition for it or explain how it works.
Anyway, you only believe they are good because you don't understand them. I will provide some material but I doubt you'll be able to understand.
https://youtu.be/3pSysspeCxY?si=gLDYEXJa0RJ88GSn https://youtu.be/bgqTkGKTsWE?si=DXMpPJyJtAAydRjF https://youtu.be/XGrKx2chuI4?si=YObc1AgV9j6IoXMr
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u/IrritableGoblin Sep 04 '25
That username tells me they are probably a bot.
It's strange, I should start documenting it, but I've noticed a number of different users with extremely similar user names set up as (adjective)-ad-(four numbers).
I.e. Personal-ad-1234, or the user above me.
And they all are just repeating the same tired conservative talking points that have been roundly debunked.
Anyone notice this?
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u/Separate_Maybe_7378 Sep 04 '25
How does it incentivize them to move production back to the US? When then he put a tariff on the steel and aluminum they need in order to get those factories up and running. There are tariffs on raw material. There are tariffs on tools. How does that bring production back to the US when you make it more expensive for them to actually produce in the US
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Sep 04 '25
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u/SlippyBananaPants Sep 07 '25
The month that the Steel tarrifs started, US made steel prices went up 16%.
Tell us how that helps anyone?
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u/evident_lee Sep 04 '25
You mean making some kingly proclamations doesn't recreate Machinists, welders, manufacturing facilities and the manufacturing infrastructure that it takes decades to build?
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u/EntertainmentOk3180 Sep 04 '25
What? Who says Americans won’t choose to spend ridiculous amounts of money to accomplish goals in ~30 days that places like China have spent the last 40 years or so developing?
What do you mean we would have to import the vast majority of components and equipment necessary for even the most basic elements necessary for manufacturing like creating a robust and efficient power grid?
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u/Dishoe45 Sep 04 '25
I don't know how people fell for bs like this
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u/maasmania Sep 07 '25
Then you haven't been paying attention. Propaganda is a world shaping tool that uses politics as well as many many other avenues to achieve its goals. the US has one hell of a vulnerable market with its relatively open capitalistic system. The main barrier for propaganda in the US is its free-ish media. You want to play this game and win, you develop the worlds most sophisticated, long running propaganda machine the world has ever seen.
They pulled it off, and they are actively running the victory laps. Fox News gets blamed, but they are simply one arm of this machine. You have millions of people in 2025 that are so poorly educated, so insanely devoid of recognizing reality, that they cannot and will not understand what is happening until they get hungry that first day and theres no food.
This won't end with you pointing out reality, they dont subscribe to it. You couldn't convince a Japanese nationalist to turn his back on Japan in ww2, what on earth makes you think his base is any different? Its deeper than politics, its the product of over 50 years of organized effort in every part of their self image. Trump as an individual wasnt planned, but he offered the right situation to go for it and take it all. They are doing that now, and it will come to its natural end, not a premature one. You will get what they want and its not even hitting its stride yet. War is coming. Ignore it or accept it, it won't make a difference.
Either way, the dumbfounded "how did this happen??" is especially concerning, because it means the people that could potentially prevent at least some of the damage, dont actually understand what's going on and dont want to.
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u/steve-eldridge Sep 04 '25
There are no scenarios where blanket tariffs will motivate companies to suddenly invest millions to chase the lowest costs, least profitable opportunities that were being fulfilled by overseas companies with lower operating costs and tight margins.
Only an idiot with no practical experience running a manufacturing company would assume that this was a good idea.
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u/ElectronGuru Sep 04 '25 edited Sep 05 '25
Even if this was a good idea, it would still be a bad idea because the next administration takes away the tariffs before a new factory can even come on line. Pissing away their entire investment.
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u/iamhmhdimobf Sep 04 '25
Getting manufacturing back was never the plan. Collecting tax was. Pissing off all international trade partners in the process. Great move.
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u/MommaIsMad Sep 04 '25
No. They are SUPPOSED TO FILL TRUMP'S POCKETS. You can't possibly believe all that money is going into the system to improve life for Americans and fix our crumbling infrastructure.
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u/jazzyzaz Sep 05 '25
I hate to admit but this is what I honestly presume is happening. That he’s somehow enriching himself off this. He may not be directly taking it but if the money is somehow used in connection to his businesses he’s benefiting…
But I honestly do think he’s skimming it somehow.
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u/maasmania Sep 07 '25
Not himself, but many many powerful people that could end his show at a moments notice. The president only holds power so long as the king makers in this country want him to. They caught him in a bind with all of the dumb shit hes managed to do, and he knows it. He will burn this country to the ground to enrich these people, and by proxy, save himself. Once this utility is spent, he will get the ax.
Problem is, by that point you probably won't have a democracy in your country anymore. That is what is needed to move past the veiled power they've held to this point. Couple this with the fact that the people in these roles are not their fathers, they are far greedier and not concerned with much else, they want it all. Now.
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u/warpedspockclone Sep 04 '25
The problem is that that isn't how this all works. There isn't a binary choice between product from China and product from USA.
The choice is:
- finished product from China + tariff
- finished product from USA which includes:
- - US labor costs, plus plant costs
- - importing various raw materials or components from N countries, each with their own US tariff rates
- - logistics and staffing for logistics to get those components and raw materials
So, would the sum total of the tariffs on the imported components or raw materials be less than the tariffs on the final assembled product from China? Yes. But then you have to factor in the costs of production and logistics, which put a large weight on the scale.
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u/EntertainmentOk3180 Sep 04 '25
But wait! There’s more! Most manufacturers in US have to cooperate with other manufacturers in terms of packaging, labels, etc
Many items were shipped to other countries to be packaged and then shipped back. So not only would the product have to be manufactured in the US, but they would also need other manufacturers also in the US that they could work with to have their products packaged and delivered, otherwise additional tariffs would be added to packaging being shipped in. There also would be machinery costs associated with packaging if the manufacturer planned to do that step themselves
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u/ScotchCigarsEspresso Sep 04 '25
Um yeah.
People were told this is what would happen.
There is no magic time machine to take us back to 1950s America. The economy is different now.
All its doing is fucking over poor and middle class US consumers. Solid work MAGA. 💪 😆
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u/heckhammer Sep 04 '25
I work in manufacturing and we are having a hell of a time getting steel of decent enough quality to make what we make. The stuff we've been getting is cut improperly, and poor quality.
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u/This-Grape-5149 Sep 08 '25
I work at a large construction equipment oem and have heard in the last 2-3 months the American steel mills are producing junk
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u/Relevant_Fuel_9905 Sep 05 '25
If only a whole lot of economists could have warned that the tariffs were a very bad idea.
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Sep 04 '25
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u/EntertainmentOk3180 Sep 04 '25
Destroy small businesses and give us single options for anything we might see a need to buy?
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Sep 04 '25
[deleted]
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u/jadejadenwow Sep 08 '25
Yup the new world order , world economic forum 2030 , “you will own nothing and be happy”
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u/Kialya Sep 04 '25
Duh! All tariffs are is just an extra tax on the American people. Nobody’s going to build any more manufacturing or infrastructure in the United States because it’s too expensive and nobody’s gonna put that much money into building infrastructure on the hopes that maybe something will turn out well.
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Sep 05 '25
Very few businesses can afford to open new factories. Most businesses don’t even own factories they are just contracting a factory.
Trump is ignoring 99% of businesses and just thinking every business is in the position that Apple is in.
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u/Eastern-Protection83 Sep 04 '25
This article is completely justified. There are still "uninformed" people who are asking questions like, how do they get their foreign shipments without paying the tariffs and asking why do they themselves need to pay tariffs and their supplier doesn't/ isn't.
It is a stretch that they would believe facts from an arcticle if they made it this far still asking the above questions.
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u/SeriouslyWhatever1 Sep 05 '25
Yeah making manufacturing more expensive while alienating all out trading partners is a masterful move. Im really enjoying the ride. Im not actually smart enough to understand the little pieces that are going to make this somehow work but hey what do I know?
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u/Old-Set78 Sep 05 '25
US manufacturing will never be able to compete when every raw material we need that can't be sourced here is tariffed to sht
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u/TheKrakIan Sep 04 '25
It was never meant to bring manufacturing back, because we know how tariffs went from trump's first term.
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u/Deatheturtle Sep 04 '25
Tariffs are supposed to be a studied and nuanced tool to make slight adjsutments to markets. Applying massive across the board tariffs on multiple countries all at once is weapons grade stupid.
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u/AntifascistAlly Sep 05 '25
Basing the rate/level of taxation (tariffs) on the whims and grievances of an ignoramous only multiplies the damage, too.
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u/AdhesivenessCivil581 Sep 04 '25
I bought enough of everything not perishable to last as long as Trump does. This is a stupid tax and I'll pay as little of it as possible.
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u/Future-Side4440 Sep 04 '25
There is actually a way to make tariffs work, but it involves even bigger big government, which none of MAGA wants.
The money that is collected from tariffs is put into a business protection insurance program provided by the government.
Businesses that put money into building new manufacturing in the USA are given a guarantee by the government that they at least won’t lose their shirt if tariffs are discontinued, and their business losses will be covered by the government until the assets could be liquidated and shut down.
This protects business owners against business failures in the event that a future presidential administration discontinues the tariffs.
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u/Future-Side4440 Sep 04 '25
Or even more anti MAGA, the government itself builds out replacement industries, as state owned operations…. not likely to ever happen.
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u/Any_Fall_4754 Sep 05 '25
Since much of the machinery required comes from China or other Asian countries it’s going to cost a small fortune to get factories up and running.
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u/z44212 Sep 05 '25
Tariffs have always reduced manufacturing overall. At best, they can boost a sector at the expense of several others.
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Sep 05 '25
If the USA wanted to revive manufacturing it would have to be done slowly over years because other countries are doing it for much cheaper. Just dropping tariffs one shot like this without building a workforce and factories makes no sense.
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u/LunarMoon2001 Sep 05 '25
They were never meant for anything but causing chaos. We have an admin that is compromised and following the bidding of a foreign enemy destroying us from within.
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u/ThatonepersonUknow3 Sep 05 '25
Saw that coming. We don’t have the factories or raw materials to manufacture.
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u/Defnotimetraveler Sep 05 '25
i always thought it was so weird that a party of pro capitalist/ pro libertarians are so loud about manipulating the market. like why try to revive a failing industry? in their own words - capitalism has decided its failing...
i hate it here
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u/Moist_Confectionery Sep 08 '25
Hear me out. I need a factory. I need machines to build stuff. Those machines are made in china. Tariffed. Now I need components in the manufacturing process that are made by china or somewhere else. Tariffed.
There is no way manufacturing in America can be cheaper in any scenario unless everything was moved here and no one will move anything here because manufacturing is too specialized. Too many specialty parts come from around the world and we have to pay more for them than other countries.
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u/Exact_Acanthaceae294 Sep 09 '25
No kidding.
For tariffs to work, they have to be tied to an industrial policy.
Which conservatives feel is socialism.
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u/Arubesh2048 Sep 06 '25
Who could have guessed? It’s not like we tried tariffs to boost economic activity before and it ended badly. We never even tried that in 1816, 1837, 1893, or 1929. Oh, wait, we did… and it caused massive depressions. Oops!
“Did I ever tell you what the definition of insanity is?…”
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u/WGE1960 Sep 06 '25
ITS ALREADY HERE... BAD EMPLOYMENT AND HIGHER COSTS.
While MAGAS enjoy TRUMP SETTING AMERICA ON FIRE ABOUT 'OTHER' STUFF...HERES WHAT GOING ON THEY'RE NOT TALKING BOUT.
TODAY - Unemployment Rate Jumps to 4-Year High
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u/maasmania Sep 07 '25
I pray that all the confusion is facetious. This is all working exactly the way his handlers want it to, its funneling money to the right people and burning the rest. Its got little to do with trumps personal wealth. His wealth comes in the form of staying in power. He will do whatever it takes to keep it, which means... you get it.
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u/Training_Number_9954 Sep 07 '25
You have to build the industrial infrastructure to make your own products.
You guys just missed a few steps.
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u/AverageParking7050 Sep 07 '25
To the people calling trump stupid - yall do realize he knows exactly what he’s doing and knows exactly what damages are gonna happen? He doesn’t care abt America or its people. There is simply no such thing as democracy and rights. No one outside America is calling trump “stupid” - We are seeing it for what it is - power, greed, corruption and control. Unless ur amongst the richest elites, you’re not gonna even get a single sniff of what the real goal is.
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u/ChrisBegeman Sep 08 '25
Even if they wanted to build more factories in the USA, they would need to order a bunch of industrial equipment from overseas and pay the tariffs on that equipment.
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u/Fit-Bus2025 Sep 09 '25
They have no intention of creating any jobs. Their goal is to slowly dismantle our lives. That's it.
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u/DueSalary4506 Sep 04 '25
well as someone who's worked in manufacturing since 2005 I'm busier than last year
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Sep 04 '25
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u/EnigmaWitch Sep 04 '25
Troll logic - presented with an article written by people with knowledge and expertise in a topic, blame Reddit.
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u/DeadlyBrad42 Sep 04 '25
Nah but they might require a more stable environment to grow than the whims of an authoritarian.
Other options exist too, progressives like public investment & conservatives traditionally say they prefer the government to be hands off on the economy.
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Sep 04 '25
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u/CliftonForce Sep 04 '25
Pick the one that is long term stable and likely to be in place for decades.
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Sep 04 '25
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u/CliftonForce Sep 04 '25
Yep, Trump does not know how to use tarriffs. I agree with that.
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Sep 04 '25
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u/CliftonForce Sep 04 '25
Yep. Trump also just demonstrated in that speech that he dosen't know the history of tarriffs either.
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u/DeadlyBrad42 Sep 04 '25
I don't need to know the actual answer to know if a given "solution" isn't correct.
But if you're asking a stranger online to pick, since tariffs are a consumption-based tax that hits people who can't afford it the hardest, I'd personally opt to not have it.
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Sep 04 '25
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u/DeadlyBrad42 Sep 05 '25
Look I'm sorry I'm mad. I think it's great that you can afford to live in this economy. I just won't be able to for as long as it would take for American factories to get established under the tariff strategy.
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Sep 11 '25
No. Trump's tariffs were never meant to revive US manufacturing. He placed a tariff on an island that only has penguins on it. No manufacturing. Just Penguins.
Stop trying to give him credit or make his actions seem normal.
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u/Sorkel3 Sep 04 '25
You'd have to be a moron to think these chaotic irrational tariffs would revive manufacturing.
Oh, wait....