The article critiques President Trump's approach to trade, highlighting the inconsistencies in his statements and policies. It argues that his trade war will not revitalize American manufacturing jobs, which peaked in 1979 and have drastically declined. The author also points out that American workers are unlikely to return to these jobs at lower wages, leading to higher prices for consumers. The overall uncertainty surrounding Trump's goals and the implications for future trade and manufacturing are emphasized.
President Donald Trump is waging his trade war using the same fundamental principle he applies to every issue: say a ton of contradictory stuff then claim to have been right all along.
We don't really know what Trump's goals are here, or if he truly has any policy aims at all. We do know he likes to make big announcements to take credit for things.
American manufacturing jobs hit their all-time peak in 1979 at about 19.6 million - just 22% of the total nonfarm workforce. These days, more like 12.7 million Americans are employed in manufacturing.
Americans would have to be willing to pay substantially more for all the stuff we buy to theoretically bring back some of the jobs that only ever represented 22% of the nonfarm labor market.
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