US Manufacturing Sector NAICS 31-33

Apr 20, 2025 - Tariffs: Boon or Burden?

• While President Trump says tariffs will be a boon for American manufacturing, in the short term, at least, tariffs are making life harder for US manufacturers, the National Association of Manufacturers reports. The president of Ohio-based copper wire products maker Republic Wire told the Cincinnati Enquirer that while he understands what the administration is trying to achieve with tariffs, “Higher prices on materials could mean fewer construction projects, which could mean a slowdown for the industry, fewer jobs and a drag on the economy as a whole.” Chuck Daras, president and COO of Michigan automotive manufacturing firm AlphaUSA, wrote in an op-ed “The truth [about tariffs] is that the burden falls squarely on American manufacturers and, ultimately, the American consumer,” adding “If the tariffs remain in place long term, small manufacturers might not be able to hold out long enough to see their promised benefit.”
• As part of the Trump administration’s effort to cut federal spending, the Commerce Department has stopped funding 10 Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) programs, Manufacturing Dive reports. The MEP program network supports small and medium-sized US manufacturers looking to grow or make operational improvements. The move impacted programs in Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota and Wyoming, which were notified that their contracts would not be renewed after expiring in March. The cuts are likely the first step in an effort to cut funding from programs in 40 other states and Puerto Rico when their contracts are up for renewal later this year, according to members of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. During his first term, Trump tried multiple times to eliminate MEP funding, but Congress restored the funds each time. Critics say the cuts conflict with the president’s strategy to revive US manufacturing.

• President Trump’s imposition of 25% tariffs on US imports of steel and aluminum and a blanket 10% tariff on imports from China are forcing US manufacturers to rethink their supply chains. The duties could mean higher prices for finished goods in the US and make it more expensive for manufacturers to import needed components and raw materials, particularly from China. The manufacturing industries expected to bear the brunt of the new metal tariffs include makers of cars and trucks, appliances, and construction equipment, The New York Times reports. Companies that need special alloys that aren’t available in the US will also be forced to pay more. Beer and soft drink manufacturers, both heavy consumers of aluminum for beverage cans, also face higher input costs. Citing data from the American Beverage Association, NYTs reports that in 2018, when tariffs on aluminum were set at 10%, they added half a billion dollars to production costs.
• President Trump's tariffs threats, if realized, could worsen the existing labor shortage in the US manufacturing sector, Inc reported in December. If, as the president has suggested, 25% tariffs on exports from Mexico, Canada, the European Union, and other US trading partners, result in largescale reshoring of jobs to the US, it would add to the tally of US factory jobs that currently go unfilled. According to data cited by The Wall Street Journal, the number of available manufacturing jobs that went unfilled each month held steady at about 100,000 throughout 2024. Moreover, the domestic labor pool may not be able to fill millions of new positions expected to be created in the next few years, Inc writes. Trump’s promise to deport undocumented workers and restrict immigration would only exacerbate the current labor shortage, some business owners say.