Ed Gresser, vice president of global trade and markets at the Progressive Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank, said the United States has seen a notable increase in new manufacturing establishments since 2019, particularly in the pharmaceutical sector. , which could be a response to the pandemic. Catering establishments also continued to grow.
But while U.S. manufacturing growth was strong last year, so were imports of manufactured goods, Gresser said. This suggests, he said, that manufacturing growth likely reflects strong consumer demand in the United States during the pandemic, rather than a shift to production in the United States.
While attitudes towards doing business in China have deteriorated rapidly, production patterns have been slower to change. A survey of 117 major companies released in August by the US China Business Council found that business optimism had reached record highs, but US companies remained hugely profitable in China, which is still home to the factory ecosystem. largest in the world and a lucrative consumer market. .
Eight percent of companies surveyed said they had moved segments of their supply chain from China to the United States in the past year, while a further 16 percent had moved some operations to other countries. But 78% of companies said they had not moved any business out of China.
The Biden administration hopes new policies — including a manufacturing competitiveness law and a climate law the president signed into law this summer — will encourage more companies to leave China for the United States, especially high-tech industries like clean energy and advanced computing.
Brian Deese, the director of the National Economic Council, said in an interview that the laws are already changing the calculus of investment and job creation in the United States. In recent weeks, White House officials have promoted factory announcements from automakers, battery makers and others directly related to the climate bill.
“One of the most striking things we’re seeing now,” Mr. Deese said, “is the number of companies – American companies and global companies – that are committing to building and expanding their manufacturing footprint in United States, and in doing so based on their view that not only has the pandemic highlighted the need for greater resilience in their supply chains, but that the United States is creating an environment policy that makes long-term investments here in the United States more attractive.