As this year’s State of the Union made clear, President Trump places manufacturing — and tariffs — at the center of his economic agenda. Even with the Supreme Court striking down the IEEPA tariffs, other tariffs, including Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum, are here to stay. In fact, last week the United States Trade Representative announced the initiation of its first investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 with the stated aim of replacing the IEEPA tariff regime.
President Trump’s goal of ushering in the greatest manufacturing era in American history remains intact, but the fatal flaw of the administration’s current tariff strategy is that it is making it more expensive to manufacture in America.
