The Fortress America Play
For decades, the gospel has been globalisation. We were told that seamless, cross-border supply chains were the pinnacle of efficiency. Now, it seems, the tide is turning. When the cost of shipping a widget from Toronto to Toledo suddenly becomes a political football, companies start looking closer to home. And that, my friends, is where the opportunity might lie.
Suddenly, American manufacturers who stuck to their domestic knitting find themselves in a rather enviable position. Think about it. If foreign competitors are tangled up in tariffs and red tape, the local players could enjoy a bit of breathing room. I’m talking about giants like Boeing, a company that practically bleeds red, white, and blue. When politicians get patriotic, they tend to buy things that fly from companies on their own soil. Then you have firms like Whirlpool. Making washing machines might not sound glamorous, but if imported appliances suddenly get more expensive, who do you think the American consumer will turn to? It’s a simple, almost crude, logic, but the market often is.