I am 100% for that.
Just stop importing everything.
Yesterday I visited a company that manufactures and then exports very sophisticated mining equipment. The equipment utilizes sensors and various components manufactured elsewhere.
The customer demands good stuff that will endure the rigors of the isolated mines. the Americans know what is best and incorporate into the total. The Americans I saw yesterday were filling the two year spare parts inventory order from the foreign miners. Included were parts they made, parts from France, Brazil and Korea. (and possibly other countries)
Monday I will visit an America company that manufactures a component for a water desalinization plant being constructed for Gulf Arabs that is designed and constructed by a very large and well known Japanese company. The language of the transaction is English and the engineering and approvals procedures are basically American. Many of the referenced specifications and standards are ASTM. The order will be in process 24/7 for 6 months. There are many very diverse jobs involved in the order, including my own.
On Wednesday, as I do every Wednesday I will visit an American company ( in Roanoke BTW) doing much the same thing fabricating to it’s own designs using American and some imported components. The process also takes around 6 months after final design is approved. The export involves loading the 100,000 pound equipment on a very very large trailer and a period of nearly three weeks on the road to Vancouver. There are some imported instruments and process devices but there are several American subcontractors involved as well.
Last Friday I visited an American company that manufactures cable. They were shipping custom made and sophisticated designed cable to a project off shore in Nigeria. Their knowledge, expertise and ability were required. Again, the engineering process and procedure are in English, ASTM IEEE specs, and American procedures.
The points are that America is doing what it does best, designing what the world needs and manufacturing what is economically feasible. The task is being accomplished using purchased items necessary that are the best that can be found, American or foreign made. Although cost is a factor, excellence is the controlling factor.
Lastly, we live in a global economy where instant communications allow unprecedented purchasing ability to source and procure what ever is needed to best solve a problem. Those who provide the best at the best price will prevail. Although Stanley tools from yankee land might seem desirable, the Stanley screwdrivers made in China will prevail. Connecticut is no longer competitive in price or quality.