Washington– Jay Allen is a fan of the president Donald TrumpThey voted for him believing the Republican would do so Reduce taxes and trimmed regulations, which helped his industrial business in northeast Arkansas.
but Tariffs are at the heart of Trump’s economic agenda He created chaos at his company, Allen Engineering Corp., which makes industrial equipment used in installing, finishing and paving concrete. the Import taxes It has raised costs for the foreign-made motors, steel, gearboxes and clutches Allen needs to build the power paddles, which can sell for up to $100,000 each.
Allen’s experience embodies a growing body of evidence that the tariffs that Trump said would help American factories are actually eliminating many of them. The problem can worsen with management Racing to formulate new definitions to replace Emergency import taxes that The Supreme Court ruled it illegal in February.
Allen said he ran his company at a loss in 2025 because of the tariffs. His payroll has fallen to 140 workers from a peak of 205. To get by this year, he has raised prices 8% to 10%, even though that may mean fewer sales.
“What’s really sad is that the unintended consequences of his tariffs are hurting manufacturing in our country,” Allen said. “It is unfortunate that the working class is under pressure.”
Trump Rationale for definitions Most important, it will force more factories to open in the United States, and will generate enough revenue to cover the federal budget deficit. but This was not achieved yet.
Factories continue to lay off workers Loss of 98 thousand jobs in the manufacturing sector During Trump’s first full 12 months in the White House. American companies are now footing the tariff bill Sue the Trump administration To recover more than $130 billion in tariffs. Meanwhile, the federal deficit is It is expected to rise over the next decade.
The White House asserts that construction spending is high, more workers are being hired to build factories, new investments are being made, and labor productivity in manufacturing is increasing — which could eventually lead to the revival of factories.
“It takes time to get production up and running, so it will take some time before we fully realize the benefits of the President’s policies,” Pierre Yared, acting chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said in an email.
Some of the bright spots in construction mentioned by the White House appear to be the result of programs launched by Joe Biden.
Spending on factory construction has begun to accelerate in 2022 with the expectation of government support from China Biden’s Chips and Science Actwhich included large subsidies to computer chip factories. Skanda Amarnath, executive director of the economic policy group Employ America, said the law was a major contributor to the historic rise in the annual rate of construction spending at manufacturing facilities.
Amarnath said spending on factory construction has declined during Trump’s presidency, but the pace remains relatively high largely due to continued work on Biden-era projects in Arizona, Texas and Idaho.
Amarnath also reviewed the interviews conducted by regional Federal Reserve Banks with companies. These comments show that some companies may expand by taking advantage of Trump’s tax breaks on investments in new equipment and buildings.
But while the pharmaceutical drug sector may be expanding, comments show no overall uptick in manufacturing due to Trump’s tariffs.
“It doesn’t feel like there’s a new industrial renaissance going on,” Amarnath said.
Based on orders, announcements and other statements, Trump has taken more than 50 tariff actions so far — and that number does not include the tariff threats he regularly makes on social media or in conversations with reporters, but have never formally implemented.
the A wave of adsThe reversals, exemptions and legal challenges — as well as Trump’s decision to bypass Congress to impose tariffs — have made it difficult for small manufacturers to plan.
For example, Allen Engineering imports 75 hp diesel engines from Germany. Building these tariffs in the United States would require an investment of $20 million, which is a significant risk if the tariff situation is unclear.
Would engine makers spend “that much money to move production from Germany to the United States when they don’t know what the landscape will be like in three years?” Allen said. “I don’t know who’s going to be in the White House, what position they’re going to have on these tariffs.”
Research shows that under a best-case scenario, “it will take a decade for manufacturing employment to rise to where it was before the tariffs were enacted,” said Joseph Steinberg, an economist at the University of Toronto.
But “the current situation is nothing like the ‘best case,'” since U.S. trade policy is unstable, making companies reluctant to expand, Steinberg said.
About 98% of U.S. manufacturing establishments have fewer than 200 workers, according to Census Bureau data, and they don’t have the kind of brand recognition or pressure to mitigate damage from tariffs that big companies like Apple, General Motors and Ford have.
The Association of Equipment Manufacturers reported in February that America’s share of global manufacturing lags far behind China’s. The group urged tax breaks to offset tariff expenses, and specifically called for easing tariffs on raw materials, parts and components that cannot be widely obtained domestically.
Steel definitions It was a particular concern. Trump imposed it last March and raised it to 50% in June. They were not affected by the Supreme Court’s decision.
Trump has credited the tariffs with restoring profits at American steel mills. But it has hurt companies that use that steel, such as Calder Brothers of South Carolina, which makes equipment for paving asphalt.
“The steel tariffs were the first thing that caught my attention,” said Glenn Calder, the company’s president. “Steel prices jumped 25% two weeks before tariffs went into effect on domestic steel. The market price just jumped. It has remained high.”
Part of Trump’s drive to expand manufacturing was to help American companies China’s competition – His country Plan a visit this spring For talks with its leader Xi Jinping.
But the trade imbalance in the US manufacturing sector rose last year under Trump rather than shrinking. At the same time, China’s trade surplus with the world rose to a record $1.2 trillion.
This trend exposes one of the big problems with Trump’s tariff strategy, said Lori Wallach, director of the Rethinking Trade Program at the American Economic Liberties Project. She noted that he had largely bypassed Congress and failed to address loopholes in World Trade Organization rules for the trade frameworks it negotiated with other countries.
Instead of working with partners to ensure sanctions against foreign manufacturers with abusive labor practices and unfair subsidies, Trump chose not to mobilize partners to confront China as a unified group. American manufacturers are at a disadvantage, Wallach said, because there is no coalition of countries that can impose sanctions on currency manipulation, subsidies and tariff evasion schemes.
“This administration’s general aversion to international cooperation means they are trying to go it alone,” Wallach said.