Speaking during a hugely important, if under the radar appearance on Fox Business Network’s “Varney & Co.,” the current CEO of Whirlpool, Marc Bitzer, explained how the tariffs enacted by the Trump Administration have made his company’s $300 million investment in manufacturing facilities in Ohio possible.
As background, Whirlpool is one of the country’s leading home appliance companies, and is the only major U.S.-based manufacturer of kitchen and laundry appliances, most of which have been produced offshore for years because of the lower labor costs and regulations in factories abroad, a move that has seriously harmed American workers and the manufacturing ecosystem generally.
So, in making a major investment in American manufacturing possible, the Trump Tariffs appear to have been vindicated in a major way, as encouraging such major investments was the goal and now appears to be happening as Whirlpool and other companies, including foreign automakers, start to rebuild manufacturing centers in America.
Bitzer explained why that is happening and how the Trump Tariffs have made it possible, explaining that what his company needed is not a pile of subsidies, but common sense policies that put it on a level playing field with foreign competition. He said, “All we want is a level playing field. We’re not looking for subsidies or gifts.”
Continuing, Bitzer noted that the current tariff rates mean that well-run factories like those Whirlpool is building and have built can be profitable, which is all he needs with tariff policies. He said, “And in a level playing field, this factory, and all our factories, can compete very well, and that’s what the tariff policy does. And as such, we’re strong and supportive of tariff policy and actually very thankful.”
Lydia Hu, the Fox Business Network host who was interviewing him on the matter, then dug into his commentary, asking if it was really just the tariffs that made the factories possible. He said, “So, is it because of the tariff policies that you’re seeing come to fruition that you’re able to make this significant investment and expand your factories here?”
He explained that, indeed, that is what is going on here, as the tariff policies Trump has engaged in make the economics of building a new factory in America work out. He said, “Yes, absolutely. I mean, basically, what the tariff policy does. It makes a business case, an economic business case, just much more attractive.”
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Continuing, he gave an example, noting that the factory Whirpool is now excited to build is one that would not have made economic sense to build without the tariffs, and so the country would have lost out on that $300 million in investment. He said, “Put it differently, this big investment, which we announced today, we would have either scaled down or made it later or hesitated, and now this is basically, you know, any investment is a bet for the future.”
Returning to the matter of tariffs creating a level playing field that Americans can use to succeed in the manufacturing sector, he explained, “So yes, our bet is these tariff policies stay: It creates a level playing field, and therefore these economic investments generate a profitable return.”
Watch him here:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video