In its analysis, the Wall Street Journal found that the trade policies adopted by former US President Donald Trump did not succeed in achieving the goal he promoted, which was the “golden age” of American industry. The newspaper confirmed that these policies did not revive the industrial sector, but rather exacerbated the challenges facing it.
The newspaper explained that “the industrial boom that President Trump promised as the beginning of a golden age for America is moving in the opposite direction,” adding that “after years of economic interventions from the Trump and Biden administrations, fewer Americans are working in the industrial sector than in any period since the end of the Corona pandemic.”
Data published by the newspaper revealed that the American industrial sector has lost more than 200,000 jobs since 2023, with waves of layoffs in factories continuing for the eighth month in a row, after the imposition of new customs duties. It also pointed out that tens of thousands of workers were laid off in automobile and computer chip manufacturers over the past year.
The report confirmed that the trade policies followed by the US administration raised the cost of production for companies that depend on imported components, especially in the short term. It also increased uncertainty in the markets and hampered investment decisions, due to policy instability and change.
The newspaper added that these measures did not succeed in protecting the local market, while China and other countries continued to enhance their exports and reduce global prices, which increased pressure on American producers and weakened their competitiveness.
This assessment comes at a time when Trump announced, last November, that the United States had entered its “golden age,” considering that it had the strongest economy and army in the world. It was preceded, in April of the same year, by the announcement of imposing broad customs duties on the products of 185 countries and regions, in a move that he said was aimed at protecting American industry, but, according to the Wall Street Journal, it backfired.
The protectionist policies and tariffs launched by the Trump administration were one of the most important elements of his economic rhetoric, under the slogan “America First,” and some of these trends continued during the Joe Biden administration.
However, increasing economic and media reports have warned that these policies have not led to a sustainable industrial recovery, but rather have been accompanied by declines in industrial employment and a rise in the cost of production, in light of increasing global competition, especially from China.
