The Reshoring Initiative supports the administration’s trade objectives fully while proposing more effective policies that use reshoring to help all U.S. manufacturing sectors achieve those objectives. We agree that our overly one-sided trade relationship with China must change.

Almost uniformly, the national media and multinational companies oppose the administration’s use of tariffs. For the past 20 years, why weren’t the media aggressively demanding an end to the goods trade deficit that has cost the U.S. 5 million manufacturing jobs? Past administrations might have acted before the deficit grew this large. Why have companies failed to do the math and calculate the profitability of their sourcing decisions accurately? If the media and businesses had done their jobs all along, tariffs would not be an issue today.

To those multinational companies that are complaining about the tariffs, we say, do the math correctly. The best way to avoid tariffs is to increase domestic sourcing. These companies can increase profits and reshore at least 1 million manufacturing jobs at the same time, thereby reducing the motivation for tariffs.

We also call on the national media to report on the millions of jobs lost offshore over the last 40 years as much as they report on the thousands lost in the current trade dispute – and to promote the National Reshoring Awards that recognize companies that have done the math.

Tariffs and trade agreements neither cause nor resolve the trade deficit.
Robert E. Scott, economist at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), points to misalignment of the dollar and the Chinese yuan as the most important, and most overlooked, factor causing the offshoring of millions of U.S. manufacturing jobs.

• Read his opinion piece in The New York Times here.
• His full EPI study, “The China Toll Deepens,” shows that between 2001 and 2017, the growing bilateral trade deficit cost 3.4 million U.S. jobs, impacting every state and congressional district.
• His views align with our policy recommendations in the Competitiveness Toolkit.

Two National Reshoring Awards offer opportunities to gain recognition for your reshoring success.

Show other companies that reshoring is achievable and demonstrate real alternatives to tariffs:

• The Second National Reshoring Award recognizes the leading U.S. example of reshoring in the production of products, parts or tooling made primarily by metal forming, fabricating or machining, including additive machining. AMT, NTMA, PMA and the Reshoring Initiative are sponsoring the award. Apply by January 31, 2019.
• The First SEAMS National Sewn Products Award recognizes the nation's leading examples of reshoring in the sewn-products industry. Three award categories cover contract manufacturers, brands/OEMs and equipment/technology suppliers. Find full details on eligibility and award criteria here. Final applications are due by February 21, 2019.

Both in-house production and domestic outsourcing are eligible for both awards. OEMs and job shops may apply. You still have time to reshore and win an award. Email us for help!

IMTS 2018 Video
Main Stage Presentation, Harry Moser. “How to Increase U.S. Manufacturing 40 Percent Without Tariffs.”

Biggins Lacy Shapiro & Company, LLC
Archived WEBINAR: How to Select the Best Location for Serving the U.S. Market

SavingUSManufacturing
“Lean Frontier Summit Focuses on Transformation into Lean Enterprise” Lean principles, TCO and reshoring are tightly linked and synergistic. Use of TCO identifies the waste associated with offshoring and makes reshoring more likely.

Quality Magazine
“Quality Cost: The Number One Reason Companies Are Reshoring”
Quality cost remains one of the most common offshore problems, but it is often overlooked in sourcing decisions.

Plastics News
Plante Moran/Reshoring Initiative survey results are in – Study expects tax and rules reforms will fuel reshoring. Price motivates 70 percent of offshoring. The ex-works price of offshored items averages 40 percent lower than the U.S. price. A 20 percent drop in the US dollar will cause many companies to reshore. See the full study here.

December 6-7, 2018 – Manufacturing Leaders’ Summit – Las Vegas, NV

March 6-9, 2019 – MFG Meeting 2019 – Tucson, AZ