
Trump's tariff chaos threatens his push for rust belt revival
US President
Donald Trump
's signature trade policy is threatening to backfire by upending other top priorities: the revival of
US manufacturing
and the
American Rust Belt
.
In Illinois,
Trump
's tariffs prompted a compressor maker to delay a key equipment purchase after an ambitious factory revamp.
Rockwell Automation
Inc., a Wisconsin-based producer of factory tools, says some manufacturers are putting projects on hold because of uncertainty over costs and future demand. Snap-on Inc. is seeing similar hesitancy among car mechanics.
The warnings underscore the rising worry that turbulence from Trump's trade wars will smother the progress US manufacturers have already made revving up American factories. Manufacturing payrolls fell by 8,000 last month, the most this year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. US and Chinese negotiators will resume trade talks Monday in London, as the world's two largest economies look to resolve disputes over tariffs and technology.
Play Video
Pause
Skip Backward
Skip Forward
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
0:00
Loaded
:
0%
0:00
Stream Type
LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
1x
Playback Rate
Chapters
Chapters
Descriptions
descriptions off
, selected
Captions
captions settings
, opens captions settings dialog
captions off
, selected
Audio Track
default
, selected
Picture-in-Picture
Fullscreen
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text
Color
White
Black
Red
Green
Blue
Yellow
Magenta
Cyan
Opacity
Opaque
Semi-Transparent
Text Background
Color
Black
White
Red
Green
Blue
Yellow
Magenta
Cyan
Opacity
Opaque
Semi-Transparent
Transparent
Caption Area Background
Color
Black
White
Red
Green
Blue
Yellow
Magenta
Cyan
Opacity
Transparent
Semi-Transparent
Opaque
Font Size
50%
75%
100%
125%
150%
175%
200%
300%
400%
Text Edge Style
None
Raised
Depressed
Uniform
Drop shadow
Font Family
Proportional Sans-Serif
Monospace Sans-Serif
Proportional Serif
Monospace Serif
Casual
Script
Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values
Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Ready-to-Move Flats in Chattarpur South Delhi
A D Infra
Get Info
Undo
In the US, perhaps nowhere is the anxiety higher than in the Midwest, which is still home to the nation's highest concentration of manufacturing employment even after bleeding jobs early this century from the rise of offshoring.
'Overall, it is going to be a drag on the
US economy
,' said Gus Faucher, chief economist for PNC Financial Services Group in Pittsburgh, calling the tariffs a tax that will raise prices. 'In particular, it's going to be a drag on the Midwestern economy.'
Live Events
Bloomberg
On-again, off-again levies on imported components and machinery — as well as retaliatory duties imposed by other countries — have injected volatility into supply chains, raised costs, hurt exports and chilled investment.
US factory activity contracted for a third straight month in May, and every comment in the Institute for Supply Management's sample of survey responses from manufacturing executives focused on tariffs — including a respondent in the electric equipment, appliance and components business who said the duties have created supply-chain disruptions rivaling those of the pandemic.
The Midwestern states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin lost almost 2 million manufacturing jobs between 1998 and 2010 as trade deals and China's entrance into the
World Trade Organization
spurred companies to seek lower-cost labor and production outside the US.
In recent years, though, a cautious optimism had returned. As supply chain shocks from the pandemic pushed companies to bring operations back home, and as Washington offered sweeping incentives for clean energy, EVs and semiconductor production, the Midwest began to stir.
Since the start of 2021, the region has added over 100,000 factory jobs, according to federal data. Rust Belt states had outsized investment in factories in the past decade, according to a report by Citi Institute, even as southern states that offer right-to-work laws, lower labor costs, and aggressive incentive packages to lure global manufacturers have also seen a boom.
The
White House
has pointed to the announcements of big planned investments in the US by companies and foreign governments as proof the president's trade policies are working. Case in point: When Trump traveled to the Pittsburgh area late last month to champion a deal between United States Steel Corp. and Nippon Steel Corp., he touted his plans to increase import duties on steel and aluminum to 50% from 25%.
Still, growth in overall US private construction spending on manufacturing has flatlined from the boom seen under the Biden administration.
Bloomberg
How Trump's approach plays out in the long term remains to be seen. For now, however, the constant shifting of his tariff strategy has 'got people spooked,' said Andrew Anagnost, chief executive officer of Autodesk Inc., which sells software used by manufacturers to design factories and improve manufacturing processes.
'The current operating mode is just the death to long-term investment,' Anagnost said. Construction work that was already underway or in the backlog is continuing but the uncertainty 'is stalling future projects.'
Milwaukee-based Rockwell Automation has already seen some investments get delayed because of uncertainty about how tariffs will affect business. The uneasiness is particularly acute in the automotive industry, which is trying to rewire a global supply chain designed for the old economic order, and in other capital-intensive projects for the long term, CEO Blake Moret said.
Snap-on, which provides tools used by automotive mechanics, can manage the impact of tariffs with minimal disruption because it mostly serves US customers with domestically made products, said CEO Nicholas Pinchuk. But while auto shops are still busy and profitable, they're 'confidence poor,' he said, adding that customers of the Kenosha, Wisconsin-based company are wary of economic disruption even if they support Trump politically.
'They're still big Trump fans. This is Trump territory,' he said. 'They believe in where we're going, but they're worried that something's going to happen.'
Even manufacturers that are positioned to gain from tariffs are anxious.
Faribault Mill, one of the last vertically integrated US textile mills in an industry devastated by offshoring, has been getting calls from from retailers looking for a domestic producer, said CEO Ross Widmoyer. But despite a projected fifth straight record sales year at the Minnesota-based maker of blankets, throws and apparel, Widmoyer said he's concerned about weakening economic growth.
'If there's a slowdown in consumer spending, it doesn't matter if you're making products domestically or overseas, and that's not good for anybody,' said Widmoyer, who is also chairman of the Minnesota Manufacturers' Council.
In Decatur, Illinois, TCCI Manufacturing was completing a $45 million factory revamp just as Trump slapped steep new tariffs on countries around the world. With US duties on China zigzagging between 30% and 145% in just weeks, TCCI decided to shelve the purchase of crucial Chinese-made testing equipment it needs by early next year. The factory makes compressors used in EVs.
The company has evaluated alternative sources for the equipment, but 'the problem with that is we don't know what the tariffs are doing,' TCCI President Richard Demirjian said as the company opened the factory earlier this year.
TCCI still has high hopes for the plant despite the uncertainty around tariffs and moves by congressional Republicans to roll back federal sweeteners for electric-vehicle purchases. The facility is now called the Clean Energy Innovation Hub, evoking the manufacturer's bet on the future. As a symbol of the region's past, Demirjian drove his father's maroon 1927 Model T to the plant's grand re-opening in April.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker spoke at the ribbon-cutting ceremony and touted the factory as the first to benefit from the state's Reimagining Energy and Vehicles program, which provided part of more than $21 million that TCCI received in state incentives for the project.
But Pritzker, a Democrat widely seen as a potential presidential candidate in 2028, warned that erratic policy-making is undercutting efforts to bolster US manufacturing.
'Tariffs are on, tariffs are off, tariffs are up, tariffs are down,' Pritzker said. 'Imagine trying to run a business and figure out from day to day how you're going to do pricing, who you're going to do business with, based upon where the tariffs are being imposed.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Indian Express
10 minutes ago
- Indian Express
US military evaluating options to prevent nuclear-armed Iran, general says
The top US general overseeing American forces in the Middle East said on Tuesday there were a range of options when asked if the military was prepared to respond with overwhelming force to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran. 'I have provided the secretary of defense and the president with a wide range of options,' US Army General Michael 'Erik' Kurilla, the head of US Central Command (CENTCOM), told a congressional hearing. Kurilla was responding to Representative Mike Rogers of Alabama, the chairman of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, who asked if CENTCOM was prepared to respond with overwhelming force if Iran does not permanently give up its nuclear ambitions. 'I take that as a yes?' the Alabama Republican asked, after Kurilla responded. 'Yes,' Kurilla said. Iran said on Monday it would soon hand a counterproposal for a nuclear deal to the United States in response to a US offer that Tehran deems unacceptable, while US President Donald Trump said talks would continue


Hindustan Times
19 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Pentagon says estimated cost of national guard deployment to LA is $134 million: Report
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed back against Democrats' criticism of the decision to deploy troops to Los Angeles, telling Congress that the Trump administration wants to protect immigration agents and keep demonstrations there from getting out of control. Asked by Representative Betty McCollum, a Minnesota Democrat, how much the deployment would cost, Hegseth criticized Governor Tim Walz's handling of protests that erupted after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis 2020. President Donald Trump recognizes 'a situation like that, improperly handled by a governor like it was by Governor Walz, if it gets out of control — it's a bad situation for the citizens of any location,' Hegseth said. He said Immigration and Customs Enforcement 'has the right to safely conduct operations in any state and any jurisdiction in the country, especially after 21 million illegals have crossed our border under the previous administration.' Hegseth's comments during the hearing, which at times turned combative, echoed Trump's remarks Monday in which he said he 'watched Minneapolis burn.' Officials also gave more detail on the scope of the deployment and the role the Marines will play. Hegesth said the deployment would last 60 days, as detailed in a presidential memorandum over the weekend. Speaking alongside the defense secretary, Acting Pentagon Comptroller Bryn MacDonnell said the deployment is estimated to cost $134 million, which covers travel, housing and food. The funds would come from the department's operations and maintenance accounts. And in a separate Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith said the Marines deployed are trained in crowd control and 'being deployed to support law enforcement.' They are equipped with 'shields and batons' and 'they do not have arrest authority,' he said. The decision to send in the National Guard and the Marines has provoked an outcry from Democrats. Representative Pete Aguilar, a Democrat who's district includes a portion of Los Angeles, asked Hegseth 'Why are you sending war fighters to cities to interact with civilians?' 'Every American citizen deserves to live in a community that's safe, and ICE agents need to be able to do their job,' Hegseth responded. 'And if they're attacked, that's lawless, and President Trump believes in law and order. So he has every authority' to deploy troops under US law. The protests entered their fifth day on Tuesday after more clashes between police and demonstrators rallying against a rising number of raids by ICE agents, who local officials say have stoked fear in the immigrant-rich community. US law generally bars the use of the active-duty US military from carrying out domestic law enforcement. Trump over the weekend authorized Hegseth to deploy armed forces 'as necessary to augment and support the protection of Federal functions and property.'


Time of India
20 minutes ago
- Time of India
Six firms booked for cheating medical device company of 2.23cr
Surat: Vesu police have registered a case of cheating against the proprietors of six firms from various states for allegedly duping a Surat-based medical device manufacturing company of Rs 2.23 crore. The case was filed following a complaint by Chintan Kapadiya, director of Envision Scientific Pvt Ltd. According to the complaint, Envision Scientific and its associate company, Concept Medical Research Pvt Ltd, supplied medical devices to the six accused firms over the past seven years. Despite repeated notices, emails and payment reminders, the firms allegedly failed to clear their dues. The companies named in the FIR include: Sakshi Enterprise (Raipur, Chhattisgarh), Bright Cardio Care (Perambalur, Tamil Nadu), SVR Medical Technologies (Thane), Meditree Health Solutions (Hyderabad), Hindustan Enterprises (Ranchi), Infinite Medical Solutions (Mumbai). The products supplied included a range of medical devices such as Albuminous, Mitigator, Nostrum and MagicTouch, among others. Kapadiya stated that both Envision Scientific and Concept Medical, which also operates a manufacturing unit in the Sachin industrial area, have faced continuous delays and non-payment from these firms, despite fulfilling all delivery obligations. Vesu police have booked all six firms under relevant sections of the IPC for cheating and initiated an investigation into the matter.