Quote Originally Posted by ClydeR View Post
Who in their right mind would invest in a new billion dollar manufacturing factory in the U.S. if the only way it could compete against low foreign wages is if the tariffs stay in place? Considering Trump's fickleness, would you invest in that venture? If Congress had enacted tariffs, after the formation of a national consensus, then it would be an easier investment to justify. But if it all depends on Trump's whims, then forget it.
To answer your question, it really all depends on the industry & market. For example, I don’t see the U.S. being a major producer of textiles. However as another example, with steel we very well could be. We possess the raw materials & our modern manufacturing technology could certainly make us competitive on its own merit but especially so with increased tariffs. I’ll remind you that Biden not only kept Trump’s tariffs on China but raised them.

Understand that these tariffs are very likely to be a temporary measure to renegotiate our trading relationship. The one exception may be China. I suspect our trading relationship will never be the same, and honestly while that may be painful it is necessary for the longterm to maintain our global dominance as a superpower.

All that being said, I do agree Republicans need to push through some legislation to make Trump’s beneficial policies much more sticky while they have the power to do so. Republicans in Congress are unfortunately not as unified as the historical mindless Democrats that fall in line to the direction of their party’s elites no matter what. First bit of legislation will be making Trump’s tax cuts permanent and I expect that will be accomplished in the next few months.