In pursuit of returning trade profits back to the country, the U.S. President Donald Trump may undermine his own ambition to turn the U.S. into an industrial powerhouse to rival China. The assessment follows Trump's announcement of tariffs imposed on imports, particularly from China and the EU, and is based on interviews with diplomats, lawmakers, officials and defense industry analysts asked by Politico.
The experts argue that while the executive order that introduced the tariffs wanted the U.S. to manufacture parts without relying on imports, it's much easier to write on paper than to do in reality. Instead, they are likely to significantly influence the pricing and availability of vital supplies needed for the defense industry.
Read more: How a 25% Import Tax Threaten Military Supply Chains, the U.S. May Grow Dependence on China and russia
The joint projects earlier considered successful may now face difficulties. One such venture mentioned by Politico is the F-35 multirole fighter jet program, implemented in collaboration with seven other partners, including the United Kingdom, which, by the way, can afford more confidence about the future of its ongoing F-35 acquisitions.
Another example is the trilateral AUKUS initiative between Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom, launched in 2021 during Joe Biden's presidency. This project aims to equip Australia with conventional-armed nuclear-powered submarines, provisionally named SSN-AUKUS, and secure the Indo-Pacific region. The U.S. side is expected to share its production technologies and sell up to four Virginia-class submarines until the new-class subs are ready for deployment — sometime in the early 2040s. Now the whole plan could be cancelled if prices for parts get too high, the experts warn.
"America’s go-it-alone approach, coupled with these wider threats, may lead skeptical partners to look elsewhere for collaboration <...> and it will chip away at an industry that equips much of the world — shredding trust and predictability from a global defense relationship that has long benefited Washington and its allies," reads the article.
Moreover, the idea that manufacturing foreign weapon parts in the United States can create more domestic jobs is too optimistic as often companies lack workforce. Many specialists are enticed by more secure and profitable jobs at other manufacturers and the booming service industry.
On that note, Defense Express reminds of our recent retrospective into the problems the UK is now facing after having cut 56,000 defense industry jobs back in the 1990s. Short-sighted post-Cold-War decisions led to a skill gap between military specialists and freelancers and a situation where qualified personnel find jobs at Amazon more compelling than going back to arms production.
Read more: UK Cut 56,000 Defense Industry Jobs in the 1990s, Leaving Only 3,000 People to Build Ships
