Despite President Donald Trump continuing to tout tariffs as a way to increase U.S. manufacturing, a Wells Fargo report from this week argues meaningfully increasing manufacturing employment will be an "uphill battle." Tariffs have pushed companies to absorb costs or pass them down to consumers, which is not conducive to ramping up domestic workforce expansion.
As President Donald Trump continues to push tariffs as a strategy to bolster U.S. manufacturing, economists aren't convinced his steep levies will have their intended economic effect.
Manufacturing employment in the U.S. hovers at 12.8 million today, down from the country's 1979 peak of 20 million, Wells Fargo said in a report on Wednesday. While the tariffs are intended to return American manufacturing to its heyday 45 years ago, they are instead creating a short-term environment that makes it harder for companies to expand their payroll and production efforts, according to the report.
"An aim of tariffs is to spur a durable rebound in U.S. manufacturing employment," report author Sarah House wrote. "However, a meaningful increase in factory jobs does not appear likely in the foreseeable future, in our view."
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/wells-fargo-warns-trump-tariffs-174751930.html