Though Democrats and Republicans rarely see eye to eye, they agree on one thing: the U.S. government should support domestic manufacturing—albeit through different strategies.
President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has poured subsidies into sectors like semiconductor and electric vehicle production. Meanwhile, former Republican President Donald Trump continues to push for protective tariffs aimed at shielding American industry from foreign competitors.
Despite these efforts, U.S. manufacturing has remained sluggish for nearly three years, and it’s unclear when — or if — a rebound will happen.
According to the U.S. Labor Department, factories lost 7,000 jobs in June, marking the second consecutive monthly decline. If the trend continues, manufacturing employment is poised to fall for a third straight year.
The Institute for Supply Management reported that U.S. manufacturing activity contracted again in June — the fourth month in a row. Overall, manufacturing has declined in 30 of the 32 months since October 2022.
“It’s been a grind,” said Eric Hagopian, CEO of Pilot Precision Products in Massachusetts. “It’s not a collapse like in 2008, but we’ve been stuck in this flat, stagnant state.”
