Advertisement

Manufacturing In America: Fact And Fiction

47:58
Download Audio
Resume

Ford nixes a Mexico plant and promises 700 U.S. jobs.  Can Trump’s arm-twisting bring manufacturing jobs back home in a big way?

 In this March 13, 2015, file photo, a worker prepares a chassis to receive an engine on a new aluminum-alloy body Ford F-150 truck at the company's Kansas City Assembly Plant in Claycomo, Mo. (Charlie Riedel/AP)
In this March 13, 2015, file photo, a worker prepares a chassis to receive an engine on a new aluminum-alloy body Ford F-150 truck at the company's Kansas City Assembly Plant in Claycomo, Mo. (Charlie Riedel/AP)

And now it’s Ford keeping jobs in the USA. After public pressure from President-elect Donald Trump, this week Ford said it would scrap plans for a new $1.6 billion plant in Mexico and instead put 700 new manufacturing jobs in Michigan. Carrier already folded job move plans from Indiana. Now Trump is threatening GM with a “big border tax” – tariffs – if it sends jobs abroad. This hour On Point, how far can Trump’s arm-twisting go to bring manufacturing jobs back to the USA? — Tom Ashbrook

Guests

Heather Long, senior markets and economy writer at CNN. (@byHeatherLong)

Alicia Sasser Modestino, labor economist at Northeastern University's School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs. (@SasserModestino)

Phil Levy, senior fellow on the global economy at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Former senior economist for trade in President George W. Bush's Council of Economic Advisers. (@philipilevy)

Peter Goodman, international economics correspondent for the New York Times. (@petersgoodman)

From Tom’s Reading List

New York Times: Trump’s Tough Trade Talk Could Damage American Factories -- "While much of the American political class has been consumed with recriminations over the wrenching loss of manufacturing jobs, Chuck Reid has been quietly adding them. His company, First Class Seating, makes recliner seats for movie theaters here at a factory on the shores of Lake Michigan. Since he bought the business three years ago, its work force has grown to 40 from 15. But those jobs will be in jeopardy if President-elect Donald J. Trump follows through on his combative promises to punish countries he deems guilty of unfair trade.:

CNN: GM, Chrysler have more workers in Mexico than Ford --"President-elect Donald Trump has a huge problem with American jobs going to Mexico, especially when it comes to car manufacturing.
His favorite target: Ford. Trump repeatedly slammed Ford on the campaign trail for its 'horrible' decision to invest billions in Mexico. He has rarely mentioned its two other large competitors: GM and Chrysler. But among America's 'Big 3' auto companies, Ford actually has the fewest number of workers in Mexico."

NPR News: Ford Scraps Plans For Mexico Plant In Surprise Move — " Instead of building a new plant in Mexico, Ford's CEO Mark Fields says his company will invest in facilities in Michigan, adding about 700 jobs. When asked to quantify how big of a role the president-elect's tweeting and cajoling went into the decision, Fields couldn't give a percentage."

This program aired on January 5, 2017.

Advertisement

More from On Point

Listen Live
Close