Thanks for mentioning the Reshoring Initiative. We are perplexed by the use of “so-called” in the article since the Reshoring Initiative is the leading organization promoting and enabling reshoring and has been recognized as an industry expert by the U.S. Commerce Department.

With that said, the economic bleeding of jobs has stopped. Reshoring, including FDI, balanced offshoring in 2015 as it did in 2014. In comparison, in 2000-2007 the United States lost net about 200,000 manufacturing jobs per year to offshoring. That is huge progress to celebrate!

Probably one million or more of the lost jobs are of the technical skill level that the article suggests we should embrace. A lot more can come back if we level the playing field: skilled workforce, currency, VAT, corporate tax rates.

The trade deficit (a good measure of the number of lost jobs) is not getting worse but it is not getting better. The candidates calling for manufacturing jobs to be reshored are correct that change is needed to bring these jobs back. We have lost cumulative 3-4 million manufacturing jobs to offshoring over the last decades. The impact of closing the trade deficit would be:

a. 3-4 million manufacturing jobs at current U.S. levels of productivity b. 6-8 million total jobs c. Improved income equality d. Cut U.S. budget deficit by about 50% e. Provide more funding for other programs f. 25% - 30% increase in manufacturing g. Reduced economic volatility

The Reshoring Initiative Can Help

In order to help companies decide objectively to reshore manufacturing back to the U.S. or offshore, the not-for-profit Reshoring Initiative’s free TCO Estimator can help corporations calculate the real P&L impact of reshoring or offshoring. http://www.reshorenow.org/tco-estimator/