We could make products in the U.S., but that takes time. You cant ask someone to pick up their manufacturing line on Monday, and be ready to move it from Mexico or China to the U.S. by Friday. It’d be at least a few years before they could manufacture anything in the U.S.
Lucky_777@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
That’s the point. To push the consumer market to shift to American made goods. What this idiot has missed is that American doesn’t have the means to make these goods.
So as always, he fucked up another “business” and it’ll lead to terrible consequences. Just like all his Trump businesses that failed.
Art of the Bankruptcy.
NocturnalMorning@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
turtlesareneat@discuss.online 3 weeks ago
It also takes the manpower. Americans really like sitting in cushy offices whenever possible, or being in service roles in general. Manufacturing is like, hard, and not fun, and you can’t scroll on Insta while you’re making shit.
Brainsploosh@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
The manpower is there and will be driven by necessity and availability. There’s nothing to suggest that manpower is inherently different, the goat herders and lavender farmers do their work manually not because they’re stupid or hard working, but that it’s the best available job. You might have some whining in between though, that’s what the protests and fascism is about.
In some sense, high paying tech/service jobs are just leveraging infrastructure (of communications, education, networking, political stability, power, etc.) to create the high profits enabling the cushiness of workplace.
Manufacturing doesn’t require that. It might be that with the plan signalled in the intense government (which is the main driver of infrastructure) cuts, there will be no other option in about 10-15 years time. Or at least with a larger class divide.
The strange thing is that it also generates less wealth, meaning less money for the rich folks to get rich off of. Is it just short sighted, or do they have a planned exit?
givesomefucks@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Corporations blurred the line between “actually made in America” and “the last doohickey is attached in America” for so long that they actually forgot there’s a difference…
EndlessNightmare@reddthat.com 3 weeks ago
What this idiot has missed is that American doesn’t have the means to make these goods.
Regardless of one’s opinions on tariffs themselves, this was such a stupid, hamfisted way of going about it. It’s almost like phasing in tariffs incrementally over a period of, say 10 years, would allow for adaption and for production to get spooled up.
I use “10 years” as an example, an economics person would be better qualified on the specifics.
gadfly1999@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
If you want to see how government can spur investment in onshore manufacturing capabilities just look at the CHIPS act, which we can’t have because the “wrong” team did it.
Saleh@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
Depending on how much money you throw at it and how much support you get by the government in dealing with regulatory processes, moving existing complex plants could take 2-5 years. Add another 1-2 years if you start from scratch. However when starting from scratch you have to do the same in other places too, so the relative time loss gets smaller.
Fact is some megacorporations already announced that they want to invest into manufacturing in the US because of tariffs. It will not offset the broader impact but help Trump sell his tariffs as a success.
Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
America not only doesn’t have the means, because of the tariffs it can no longer get the means. Manufacturing requires a lot of heavy industrial equipment that - surprise, surprise - isn’t made in the US.
But to say that Trump’s goal is to move production back to the US is almost giving him too much credit. He doesn’t really have a clear idea of what his goal is. Depending on the moment it changes, and the various goals he suggests are all contradictory; each one can only happen without the others. He says he’s imposing tariffs to move manufacturing home, but that only works if the tariffs are set to last a long time. But he also says he’s making deals, and that only works if the tariffs will be removed as part of the conclusion of the deal. And he says that the tariffs will replace taxes, but that only works if the tariffs are permanent, and imports remain at their current levels rather than manufacturing moving back to the US. For any one of those claims to be true, the other two can’t be.
There is no plan here. He just likes the idea of tariffs, because he has only ever understood the world through the lens of power; of dominating or being dominated. Tariffs feel big and muscular, like throwing punches but with money. That’s why he wants them. The rest is just excuses. It’s really all about his crippling insecurity, and the entire American right being in his thrall.
Quadhammer@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
They do seem to be getting tired of his shit as well