[By Guancha Observer, Shao Yun]

After US President Trump imposed tariffs on Chinese goods, have American companies experienced a surge in orders? A report that White House Press Secretary Letitia recently shared on X (formerly Twitter) has attracted attention among Trump's MAGA supporters. However, soon voices emerged pointing out that the claim of American-made products becoming more competitive in the market was not entirely rigorous...

This report published by the right-wing American news website "Daily Caller" on May 5th claimed that the 145% tariff imposed by Trump on Chinese imports is enhancing the competitiveness of American-made products. Many small and medium-sized manufacturers are experiencing a surge in orders and are preparing to increase production and hire new employees.

One of its bases is that a rubber and plastic manufacturer named Grand River in Ohio State said it had received more inquiries for orders, including two old customers who had switched to Chinese suppliers several years ago. Three companies producing oil filter also contacted them hoping to transfer procurement from China back to the United States, and two of them have placed orders.

Screenshot of "Daily Caller" report

The report stated that if these orders are eventually implemented, they will bring approximately $5 million in annual revenue to this company with about 200 employees, which is roughly 10% of the company's revenue.

Another tool manufacturer named Jergens, headquartered in the Midwest with less than 500 employees, said that its factories are operating "24 hours a day, seven days a week without interruption", and "are extremely busy". Jergens President Jack Schron said that this is partly because customers are placing orders in bulk to avoid tariffs, and partly because the demand from the defense industry has increased over the past one and a half years.

As of the time of publication, Letitia's tweet sharing the above report has garnered nearly a million views, thousands of retweets, and comments.

However, many American netizens expressed skepticism about this claim. Some people bluntly pointed out that an increase in orders for individual manufacturers does not necessarily reflect the situation of tens of thousands of other small and medium-sized manufacturers in the market. A comment seemingly from an American manufacturing industry insider said that many so-called American-made manufacturers also rely on components imported from overseas, and even if small and medium-sized enterprises can afford the "core costs" of the tariff, they cannot handle the huge cash flow pressure of initial "advance payment import".

There were also voices mentioning that many large American companies have clearly stated that Trump's tariffs will result in losses counted in billions of dollars. One of the three major American automakers, Ford, announced on May 5th that it was withdrawing its previous earnings forecast for 2025 and said that the total cost of tariffs for the company would be about $2.5 billion, and even reasonable tax avoidance could only avoid about $1 billion of additional costs.

According to media reports, Ford is relatively less affected by tariffs among American carmakers because about 80% of the cars sold in the U.S. market are produced in American factories. By comparison, the proportion of its competitor General Motors is only 53%. General Motors estimates that the tariffs will result in a loss of up to $4 billion to $5 billion in annual profit.

"These additional costs are very likely to be passed on to consumers, ultimately harming the very companies Trump claims to support," one comment wrote.

In fact, the content of "Daily Caller" article originated from a feature article published by The Wall Street Journal on May 4th, and during the "reprinting" process, "Daily Caller" omitted many details unfavorable to the Trump administration:

For example, manufacturers including Grand River all said that tariffs are increasing their production costs. Donny Chaplin, president of Grand River, frankly admitted that the company "might" be able to withstand the rising costs, but must pass them on to customers through price increases.

Husco International is a privately owned family business mainly producing parts for automobiles and agricultural equipment. CEO Austin Ramirez said that in order to cope with the tariffs imposed during Trump's first term, the company has reduced its dependence on raw materials from China by half over the past decade. However, according to value, the company still gets 20% of its raw materials from China.

"We can't completely stop importing, we import key components for customer products. We must continue importing, and I just have to pay the tariffs," Ramirez also said that he is trying to cover additional costs through price increases.

Even personal protective equipment manufacturers, which seem to be the "biggest beneficiaries" of Trump's tariff policy, also rely on raw materials or production tools imported from other countries targeted by US tariffs.

The Wall Street Journal introduced that during the COVID-19 pandemic, many manufacturers of masks, rubber gloves, and other personal protective equipment emerged domestically in the United States. In the early stages of the pandemic, benefiting from the disruption of Asian factories, these manufacturers quickly developed. However, after the pandemic, hospitals and clinics in the United States returned to cheaper Chinese suppliers, leaving them in a difficult situation.

Trump's tariffs on Chinese rubber gloves and others caused the originally neglected businesses to experience a sudden increase in inquiries. A company named SafeSource recently opened two new production lines to produce rubber gloves. SafeSource said that due to increased production and cost dilution, its quotes may even "approach" those of Asian factories. However, The Wall Street Journal reported that there were obvious "side effects": SafeSource now faces a basic tariff of 10% on synthetic rubber materials imported from Brazil and Italy.

In fact, many media reports show that Trump's tariff policies are causing increasing doubts - even in the "rust belt" regions he promised to revitalize. Last month, Mack Trucks announced that it would lay off about 10% of workers at its Lehigh Valley factory in Pennsylvania, citing tariffs and the resulting economic uncertainty.

A recent Washington Post poll showed that nearly two-thirds of Americans do not approve of Trump's handling of tariffs. The Washington Post reported on June 6th that many voters, including Trump supporters, sensed pain in the Lehigh Valley economy, which could endanger Republican votes in this swing county.

"No one really thinks Lehigh Valley can go back to the way it used to be... We might bring back some manufacturing, but it absolutely cannot reach the degree people fantasize about," Brian Higgins, a Republican county commissioner in Lower Macungie Township, said. Lower Macungie Township is where the factory being laid off is located. Higgins believed that tariffs "would cost more money and might trigger retaliatory tariffs."

The Washington Post also recorded an interesting detail in its interview on June 6th: Rick Janko, a retired resident of Lehigh Valley who basically supports Trump's agenda and voted for Trump in last year's election, dismissed the claim that tariffs would revive manufacturing. "How much are you willing to pay more for something?" Janko asked. "To be honest, anything made in America is more expensive."

This article is an exclusive contribution by the Guancha Observer and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7502049736048788008/

Disclaimer: This article solely represents the author's own views. Please express your attitude by clicking the "Like/Dislike" button below.