Made in America – US manufacturing under the microscope

The reshoring of US manufacturing, a key Trump administration policy objective, seems likely to continue despite the uncertain future of import tariffs. In our forthcoming Made in America series, we explore crucial questions about the economic implications of this process.

• US manufacturing production continues to increase, but manufacturing employment has declined significantly, creating regional economic and social pressures.
• The extremely high labor costs for manufacturing workers in the US reflects the prime value-added goods manufactured in the country and the focus on research and development.
• Important competitive advantages of US manufacturing include the highest global intensity of research and development and its top-ranked research complexity.
• Tariffs applied to imports may incentivize onshoring, but they will also increase the cost of imported intermediate and capital goods that US manufacturers rely on.