US Incentives 4-4-25

Trump is offering foreign manufacturing companies incentives to locate their plants in the US. This is not a new idea. In the 1950s, European countries began to require the US to locate their “final assembly” plants in their countries as a condition to allowing these US goods to be sold in their countries. “Turnabout if Fair Play”. In the 1950s, Europe was broke and the US was healthy. Now the US is broke and needs private sector jobs to be reshored. 

While there isn't a single year where European countries universally demanded US manufacturers establish final assembly plants, the pressure for this type of investment intensified in the post-World War II era, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s. 

Here's a more detailed explanation: 

Post-War Economic Recovery: Following World War II, European nations were rebuilding their economies and sought to attract foreign investment to stimulate growth and create jobs.

Trade Barriers and Local Content Requirements: To protect their domestic industries, European countries implemented trade barriers and increasingly demanded that foreign manufacturers establish local production facilities to meet local content requirements.

US Manufacturers Respond: Faced with these pressures, US manufacturers began establishing assembly plants in Europe to gain access to the growing European market and avoid high import tariffs.

Examples:

Volkswagen: In the 1950s, Volkswagen began exporting cars to the United States, and by the 1960s, they had established a plant in Germany to meet the growing demand for their vehicles.

General Motors: General Motors established a plant in Belgium in the 1950s, which was a major step in their expansion into Europe.

Increasing Pressure:

The pressure for local assembly plants continued to grow throughout the 1960s and 1970s as European countries sought to further integrate their economies and develop their own manufacturing sectors.

In the 1960s International Shoe closed it’s St. Louis manufacturing plant. Shoes were being made overseas.

In the 1990s, the US began to off-shore all manufacturing to countries with lower labor costs and no regulations. Other countries were subsidizing their manufacturers and dumping their lower cost products in the US. The US CEOs were faced with lower cost competition and were ignoring product quality. Japan took first place beginning in the 1980s with better cars that got better mileage. Toyota and Honda became the best sellers in the US. 

Source: Google Search

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader