A worker does quality inspection at the Fuyao Glass America (FGA) facility in Moraine of Dayton in Ohio, the United States. /Xinhua
Editor's note: In April, the White House announced sweeping tariffs to revitalize American manufacturing. But will production indeed return to U.S. soil as the Trump administration hopes? CGTN has launched a five-part "Return of American Manufacturing?" series to explore this question. The third installment examines the long-term effects of the White House's efforts in bringing manufacturing back to the United States.
Mohamed El-Bendary, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is a Cairo-based freelance writer and independent researcher. His commentaries have appeared in major international media outlets. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.
In his inauguration speech, U.S. President Donald Trump pledged to make the United States a manufacturing nation once again. In imposing a barrage of tariffs, Trump aims to revive the U.S. manufacturing industry and make it competitive globally.
The Trump administration laments the loss of 90,000 factories since the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994 and falsely thinks that tariffs will succeed in renegotiating trade deals in favor of America.
The U.S. is in a state of economic uncertainty and is searching for an enemy to escape its chaos. Manufacturing jobs and wages have been declining, and the Trump administration falsely believes that taking on trading partners and waging a tariff war will revitalize the tormented manufacturing industry and bring back jobs and factories. It assumes that tariffs can establish America as a manufacturing hub and make it reclaim something of a renaissance of its manufacturing heyday.
However, the sudden rise in tariffs will not succeed in prioritizing U.S. manufacturing and will instead add to global uncertainties. According to the International Monetary Fund, it will harm the global economy, which is expected to grow slowly in 2025 and encounter high inflation.
In addition, do Americans genuinely desire to work in factories?
From the late 1980s to the early 2000s, I lived in four different U.S. states – from Washington, D.C. to California, Missouri to Louisiana – and witnessed a rising resentment among Americans toward working at factories. Factory jobs were undesirable because of low pay and were mainly allocated to new immigrants and foreign workers. Labor union movements were dwindling due to the actions of money-hungry and untamed business owners.
Port workers participate in a strike at the Port Houston in Texas, the United States. /Xinhua
The demise of the U.S. manufacturing peak brought down the U.S. middle class and widened inequality in America. To put it more bluntly, American-style capitalism has ceased serving the needs of its followers, with factory workers left behind.
U.S. protectionist tariff policy will backfire because it does not aim to expand factory employment, a process that should be taken gradually over the years. Suppose the Trump administration truly desires to restore manufacturing and make America great again. In that case, it should introduce an industrial policy that promotes establishing new factories and offers blue-collar, good-paying jobs.
Revitalizing manufacturing production is a long-term process that demands increased trade with the outside world and not decreased. Instead of lashing out at China, the Trump administration should take its manufacturing miracle as an exemplary model for inspiration. A renaissance of the decades-long decline of the U.S. manufacturing industry also necessitates an increase in overseas labor and an end to an American culture antagonistic to factory jobs.
Today's fractured world needs a more morally driven leadership to reduce the fear of the eruption of destructive conflicts. In its final stage, the American empire is in a predicament; it is paying for its involvement in the internal affairs of other countries and the occupation of overseas territories.
And the Trump administration's hostile trade policy will regrettably continue to earn America more enemies. Instead of moving manufacturing jobs to America, it threatens established U.S. trade ties with other nations. Overseas companies will resent moving to America to avoid tariffs and will expand instead. It is no wonder that Americans have begun taking to the streets in opposition to trade barriers they view as putting the U.S. into more economic hardship.
It is high time that America works collectively with emerging powers in search of a new direction to enforce peace and create a more just and human world with great power diplomacy and no trade wars.
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