
Tariffs from the Trump administration could drive up U.S. manufacturing costs by as much as 4.5%, by raising import prices for everything from electronic components to textiles.
"Manufacturing industries will face increased input costs imposed by the very tariff regime intended to boost their competitiveness with imported final goods," according to a July 29 report from the Washington Center for Equitable Growth (WCEG).
The WCEG says its analysis shows that the U.S. manufacturing industry faces more exposure to tariffs than any other sector in the country, given its reliance on imported raw materials like steel and aluminum, its razor-thin margins, and its complex supply chains spanning numerous regions across the globe. And although President Trump has spoken of a need to use tariffs to revive American manufacturing, the WCEG warns that the White House's trade policies could cause more harm to the industry than good.
Read More: The Fatal Flaw Behind a U.S. Manufacturing Revival
Of the 25 sectors of the U.S. economy identified as most affected by tariffs, 19 are in manufacturing, including automobiles, primary metals, chemicals, computers and electronics, machinery, and textiles. The country's computer and electronic manufacturing sector imports more than 20% of its materials and components, while nearly 60% of the value content of U.S.-assembled vehicles — which measures the proportion of a finished vehicle that originates from a specific region — is imported.
The Trump administration's aggressive deportation policies also threaten to upend the country's already-shorthanded manufacturing workforce, with nearly one in every five U.S. manufacturing jobs today filled by either documented or undocumented immigrant workers. According to July 29 report from The Guardian, more than 125 workers were recently forced out of their jobs at a GE Appliances plant in Kentucky, after the Trump administration shut down a program that had allowed thousands of immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to work legally in the U.S. A Kraft-Heinz plant found itself similarly short-staffed, with the company reportedly mandating overtime after the Trump administration revoked work authorization for the facility's immigrant employees.
For consumers, tariffs continue to drive up prices for a range of everyday items. Data released by the Yale Budget Lab on July 28 revealed that U.S. consumers are facing a 40% increase in shoe prices in the short term, as well as a 37% bump in apparel prices. Should planned tariffs against more than 80 countries take effect as scheduled on August 1, nearly three-quarters of U.S. food imports would also be impacted, according to the Tax Foundation.
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