Expert Predicts Difficulty of Trump's Initiative to Revive US Manufacturing

Photo: Foxconn Factory in Shenzhen

Robin Dahl, a senior researcher at Dahl Mobile Technology who is working in Shenzhen since 2007 and has long experience of industrial production, supply chains and semiconductor eco system asserts that global corporations are unlikely to relocate their manufacturing operations to the United States, despite President Donald Trump's advocacy for such a shift.

 A recent report by the Financial Times highlighted that it would take Apple three years and an investment of $30 billion to relocate just 10% of its production capacity and supply chains necessary for iPhone manufacturing from Asia to the United States.

 Dahl emphasized that the primary obstacle for companies considering a move to the US is the significant regulatory uncertainty. "No one is willing to invest tens of billions of dollars when the rules can change drastically in a matter of days," he stated.

 He further noted that even if the US maintains its tariffs on most countries, the process of shifting production back to the United States would be lengthy.

 "Due to various factors such as wages, rental costs, logistics, and raw materials, American manufacturing will struggle to compete with Southeast Asia in the production of most consumer goods," Dahl explained.

 He also indicated that if companies do decide to relocate their production to the US, it would likely be aimed solely at serving the American market rather than exporting abroad. "Despite its size, the American market is still smaller than the global market, and substantial manufacturing operations will continue to be based in Asia," he concluded.