As he courts Midwestern voters, President Donald Trump is returning to hard-hit manufacturing regions where he made big, bold promises in his last campaign. “If I’m elected…. you won’t lose one plant, I promise you that,” he told Michigan voters at a rally in October 2016. In fact, his big stick approach to global trade negotiations would bring jobs back home. Or so he claimed.
Four years later, it’s clear that Trump’s trade policies have failed U.S. workers. Instead of more good jobs, his ever-escalating trade wars have led to higher costs, lost markets, and more plant closures. Economic Policy Institute research shows that nearly 1,800 U.S. factories disappeared between 2016 and 2018.
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