MAGA

The world was enamored with globalization that started at the end of WW 2 but grew rapidly after China entered the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001. Consumers had low priced products from China and business profits soared as manufacturing jobs moved overseas. The income gap widened but people in power were not affected. As far back as the 1980's Trump realized what was happening to the working class people and complained about the adverse effects of globalization. In a 1988 interview he complained, "they dump the cars and the VCR's and everything else". Candidate Trump said during his 2015 campaign he would declare China a currency manipulator on his first day in office. He did this is 2019 and at the same time imposed new tariffs on Chinese imports. This started the process of deglobalization which is called reshoring, that is, the bringing of manufacturing jobs back home or make America great again. When Biden took office he continued the process by keeping the import taxes and restricting tech investments by American companies in China. Chines companies began to move manufacturing to Mexico in order to by pass the import tax but once again Trump is ahead of the game. In a March 17 campaign speech, former president Trump vowed “We're going to put a 100 percent tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and you're not going to be able to sell those guys if I get elected.” MAGA means doubling the US industrial base and the process is already underway and will continue regardless of who is president. Reshoring these jobs means shorted and more reliable supply chains. It means higher wages for American workers and higher inflation for everyone. This industrial growth has helped Mexico which in 2023 replaced China as the US number one trading partner. Since 2018 when the Trump import taxes started China has poured billions of dollars into manufacturing facilities in Mexico. China will continue to steal intellectual property to make cheap goods but the US will no longer be buying.