Manufacturing matters
A key goal of Trump’s tariff policy is to increase manufacturing output and employment in the US. Since 1990, the number of manufacturing jobs in the US has dropped from 17.4 million to 12.8 million. Over the same period, US real manufacturing value added doubled from USD 1.2 trillion to USD 2.4 trillion. Polling by Cato Economics indicates 80% of Americans believe the country would be better off if more people worked in manufacturing than they do today. But, when asked whether they themselves would be better off if they worked in a factory instead of their current field of work, only 25% agreed. Increasing manufacturing employment would likely require government subsidies to make up for higher labor costs in the US compared to abroad. In the same survey, 52% of respondents supported subsidies.
Source: Poll of 2,000 Americans. Cate Economics, YouGov, August 2024.