Tariffs alone won’t save American manufacturing — here’s what actually will

Johan "Kip" Eideberg is Senior Vice President, Government & Industry Relations at Association of Equipment Manufacturers.

As this year’s State of the Union made clear, President Trump places manufacturing — and tariffs — at the center of his economic agenda. Even with the Supreme Court striking down the IEEPA tariffs, other tariffs, including Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum, are here to stay. In fact, last week the United States Trade Representative announced the initiation of its first investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 with the stated aim of replacing the IEEPA tariff regime.

President Trump’s goal of ushering in the greatest manufacturing era in American history remains intact, but the fatal flaw of the administration’s current tariff strategy is that it is making it more expensive to manufacture in America.

Trump allies, including Oren Cass at American Compass, argue that tariffs and reshoring are essential to securing supply chains and rebuilding America’s manufacturing base. Cass recently told the Financial Times that tariffs are strategic levers to restore industrial capacity. Michael Lind, in his essay “So What If Tariffs Are Taxes?”, portrays tariffs as a public good that can reassert national control over markets. Robert Lighthizer, Trump’s former trade representative, defends tariffs as central to safeguarding U.S. manufacturing. These arguments carry populist appeal, but they falter when confronted with the economics of manufacturing and the realities of global supply chains.

Cass and Lind suggest that reshoring can be accomplished swiftly. But the equipment manufacturing industry, which I........

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