Tuesday, April 29, 2025

Manufacturing - US versus China

Did international trade really kill American manufacturing?
https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2025/04/25/did-international-trade-really-kill-american-manufacturing
By Donald Trump’s telling it did. The data suggest otherwise.


The trouble with MAGA’s manufacturing dream
https://www.economist.com/business/2025/04/28/the-trouble-with-magas-manufacturing-dream
Donald Trump underestimates the difficulty of producing in America—and how his own policies will make it harder. 

Manufacturing jobs are never coming back
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/408949/manufacturing-jobs-tariffs-trump-trade-automation
Putting Americans back to work in factories isn’t just hard. It’s impossible.


How America Lost Manufacturing
As a reporter in the 1980s, I watched U.S. industries as they failed to adapt to foreign competition.

A Good Man for U.S. Manufacturing Is Hard to Find
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/a-good-man-for-u-s-manufacturing-is-hard-to-find-young-males-worker-shortage-labor-30255cce
President Trump proclaims his tariffs will bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. Good luck finding workers to fill them. A common lament among employers, especially manufacturers, is they can’t find reliable, conscientious workers who can pass a drug test. Single women might commiserate: A good worker, like a good man, can be hard to find these days.
 

Why It’s So Difficult for Robots to Make Your Nike Sneakers
https://www.wsj.com/economy/trade/why-its-so-difficult-for-robots-to-make-your-nike-sneakers-47b882b5
Trump sees tariffs as a way to boost U.S. manufacturing, but Nike’s struggle to move production from Asia is a cautionary tale. 

China Has an Army of Robots on Its Side in the Tariff War
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/23/business/china-tariffs-robots-automation.html
Enormous investments in factory equipment and artificial intelligence are giving China an edge in car manufacturing and other industries.