By Rachel Chiang | Assistant News Editor
Seeing typical household items labeled with “Made in China” is not a foreign concept. It is not just the United States that sources products from China, but it makes you wonder who the economic superpower of the world is if China is dominating the manufacturing industry.
In Donald Trump’s re-election platform, Agenda 47, he promises to “stop outsourcing, and turn the United States into a manufacturing superpower.” As we arrive at his return to office, what benefits does domestic manufacturing offer?
In an article by the United States House Committee on Ways and Means, it argues how Trump’s tax cuts in 2017 increased small business expenses which allowed for manufacturers to “expand operations and lowered the cost of investing in new equipment, vehicles and facilities.”
Directly fighting competitors like China, the article warns against America falling dependent on China’s economic output. To achieve this, it would take “full expensing” to “further incentivizes American companies to bring their manufacturing facilities and operations back to the United States.”
Conversely, an article by the BlueGreen Alliance argues the same for the Biden-Harris administration. The article focuses on how their administration made strides in promoting clean energy within manufacturing facilities. They implemented programs such as the Buy Clean initiative to incentivize and reward U.S. manufacturers to produce clean products.
Despite our political parties’ dissenting methods on promoting domestic manufacturing, it is a goal both sides are trying to achieve. For Americans, it is hard to have much say over how much we pay for products.
Souvenirs and cultural items, for example, are things people are and should be willing to pay for. Many times people don’t care or know where the items they buy come from.
So many of our day-to-day goods are outsourced internationally. Abusing sweatshops, cheap labor and raw material costs from other countries only hurts us. If we push our legislation to promote more domestic manufacturing, not only are we boosting our own economy, we are providing Americans with job opportunities and a sense of pride by producing domestically-made materials.
Not everything we purchase must be solely American made, and there are plenty of high-quality goods produced from other countries. But there are some things that could easily be made in the U.S. that carry the essence of American culture. We should be pushing for the domestic production of those goods. Buying a “I love New York” T-shirt or a household item like Christmas lights should be things easily produced and bought in the U.S.
As domestic manufacturing continues to be bolstered on a federal level, you can contribute by researching companies to see where their manufacturing occurs. It is also important to properly dispose of recyclable materials to reduce environmental impacts and vote for the candidates that best support your ideals for a more economically sustainable future.
