NEWS ANALYSIS: Running shoes show Donald Trump’s jobs revival cliff
Nike and privately held rival New Balance show Trump’s plan to claw back manufacturing jobs from Asia will ultimately hurt US consumers
US companies from appliance makers to vehicle parts suppliers have lined up to offer a quiet caution to president-elect Donald Trump as he considers pulling the US from trade deals: most lost manufacturing jobs are not coming back, but higher costs for consumers could. Consider the training shoe industry, one of the first to move to Asia because of the sharply lower cost of production in China and Vietnam. Nike and its smaller, privately held rival New Balance Shoes, split over the question of whether the US should back the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal. But if Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress nix that trade deal, as expected, both companies and the analysts who track them agree Asia is poised to keep its dominance as the industry’s manufacturing hub. Companies such as Nike have invested too much in those lower-wage economies to consider moving factories, even if tariffs rise and push up costs for American consumers, analysts say. Any new hiring in the US will...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.