It’s a brutal world out there for America’s exporting manufacturers.
I founded Blumberg Grain to manufacture and export state-of-the-art, 100 percent American-made food security systems around the world. As a Democrat, I support President Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs and back his economic nationalist policies.
Steel is a vital component of our grain storage, conveyors and more. The president’s metals tariffs will likely hike our cost of inputs. And we’re okay with that, and for good reason — these tariffs level the playing field and motivate other nations to remove their own blockages to free trade.
Ultimately, manufacturers make money when we sell, not when we produce. And for decades, American manufacturers have had to sell into the strong headwinds of restricted international market access: tariffs up to 50 percent and other import regulations, mandated joint ventures, intellectual property theft, corrupt governments, and much more.
It gets even harder. American companies abroad must respect environmental standards and employment practices that others do not. Importantly, we follow the rigorous U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which forbids payoffs and other unethical practices no matter where they take place. That doesn’t stop our international competitors, who make a standard practice of bribing decision makers.
Reciprocal tariffs are a start, but they do not fully address the complex global marketplace hurdles that U.S. manufacturers face. Anyone blaming the loss of our nation’s manufacturing base on one factor misses the complex way other countries have competed unfairly for decades, more unfairly by the day, until after 50 years, manufacturing in America is on life support.
We’ve done it to ourselves by tolerating other countries’ unfair trade practices in an effort to be politically correct around the world. While other nations take advantage of our goodwill, one U.S. factory after another is driven out of business. Trump is the first modern president to take a stand and take into account that it’s not just tariffs that make for unfair trade.
His powerful common-sense approach: Access to the largest, most lucrative market in history isn’t a right, it’s a privilege. And I applauded when Trump said in his inaugural address and State of the Union, that foreign policy decisions and foreign aid must be driven by what benefits American workers and businesses.
Our company and our suppliers account for 2,400 direct U.S. manufacturing jobs with the potential for thousands of new jobs as we grow. But we face unique challenges, like foot dragging bureaucrats who slip our proprietary specifications to Russian companies so they can compete, win and bribe the culprits.
More than once, we’ve discovered illegal attempts to hack our systems and steal our designs. Flagrant theft and violation of intellectual property isn’t just a Chinese and Russian problem; it’s a global pandemic. Trump is fighting this head on.
Countries play a role too. European nations and others often bankroll their companies’ bids through subsidies that make U.S. companies uncompetitive. And as the president has made clear, foreign governments have put tariffs on American exports for decades and yet are able to sell their competitive products in the U.S. comparatively tariff-free.
The list goes on and on. Yet in spite of these unfair trade practices, past American presidents made open access to our markets a principled right of others. It’s absurd.
For the first time we have a president who will link all aspects of our international relationships, including foreign aid and tariffs, to the impact on American workers and businesses. As a lifelong Democrat, I now stand lock step with Trump.
Sure, this get-tough policy will likely cost our company a few more dollars to manufacture our food security systems here. But when Trump continues to level the global playing field in support of American commerce abroad, we will sell more, our company will make more money, we will create more jobs, and we will do our part to help Keep America Great.
Philip Blumberg is founder and chairman of Blumberg Grain, a Miami-based global food security company.
