24hourcampfire.com
24hourcampfire.com
-->
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Hop To
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 23,319
Campfire Ranger
OP Offline
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 23,319

Companies are already canceling plans to move U.S. jobs abroad

Mike Dorning, Thomas Black and Nacha Cattan
Bloomburg

President-elect Donald Trump’s threat of retribution against companies that move jobs out of the U.S. is already having the effect he probably intended: some business leaders are pausing plans to seek foreign addresses.

Ross Baldwin, whose San Diego-based firm Tacna helps U.S. companies set up manufacturing operations in Mexico, said three new clients put their plans on hold until they see what Trump does as president.

At the McAllen Economic Development Corp., which assists companies seeking to expand across the Mexican border from the Texas city, two of five companies currently considering a move have put the brakes on their plans because of Trump, said Keith Partridge, the development corporation’s chief executive officer.

Trump’s Twitter vow that companies shifting jobs out of the U.S. will face “consequences” under his administration introduced new and difficult-to-gauge political risk for businesses considering offshoring to lower costs. The incoming president’s passion for the cause was underscored at his Dec. 1 rally to celebrate an agreement he reached with United Technologies Corp.’s Carrier unit to keep about 800 factory jobs in Indianapolis instead of moving them to Mexico.

“What they did in Indiana has made it clear to every board member in America that there is a clear and present danger in outsourcing” said Jim Courtovich, managing partner of the Washington public affairs firm Sphere Consulting, who said he has already heard from worried business executives.

GN Store Nord A/S looked into moving some hearing-aid production work from Minnesota to Mexico earlier this year but put the plan on hold because of U.S. campaign rhetoric, a person familiar with the matter said. GN wants to explore incentives to keep production in Minnesota and whether there would be penalties for relocating jobs to other countries, said another person. Both people asked not to be named because the discussions are private.

GN doesn’t comment on internal deliberations and has “no plans whatsoever” to move its Minnesota production, Anders Hedegaard, CEO of GN Hearing, said in an e-mailed statement. “We have recently consolidated our U.S. production in Minneapolis, where we have invested heavily and increased staff. We are very pleased with the location.”

Trump’s Leverage

Key congressional Republicans have indicated they’ll balk at a 35 percent tariff Trump has proposed for companies that move jobs outside the U.S. and then export products back to the country. But as president, he’ll have plenty of other levers of power -- chiefly, the bully pulpit.

Some companies are still moving ahead in shifting jobs. Rexnord Corp. is planning to move some 300 manufacturing positions to Mexico from a ball bearings plant just a mile away from the Carrier plant Trump visited. He attacked Rexnord on Twitter for “rather viciously firing” the U.S. workers. Rexnord didn’t respond to requests for comment about the tweet and its plans for the Indiana plant.

Baxter International Inc., a maker of health-care products, is moving some production from an Englewood, Colorado, plant to Tijuana, Mexico, according to a certified trade adjustment assistance petition filed by the state government. Some of the work is being done remotely by employees who have remained and “much of the work is being transitioned to third-party business partners in the U.S.,” Baxter said in an e-mailed statement.

Cardone Industries, a closely held auto-parts maker based in Philadelphia, is moving work to Mexico, affecting 1,300 jobs, according to a trade adjustment assistance petition filed by the company. Cardone’s human resources director didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Baldwin said his clients will watch how Trump responds in such instances. Companies that have cold feet from Trump’s rhetoric have merely put their plans on “a pause,” he said, “until we sort out what’s happening.”

Poll Data

Trump has the public on his side. Seventy-four percent of registered voters support a tax hike on U.S. companies that move jobs overseas and 73 percent say they would have a less favorable view of a company that moves work abroad, according to a Politico/Morning Consult poll taken Dec. 1-2.

Trump has already mastered the use of invective and Twitter to punish people and institutions that antagonize him. The prospect of a public shaming is particularly unsettling for corporate insiders used to operating beneath the radar, Courtovich said.

“Board members don’t like being put under a microscope and what Trump is basically saying is they’re going to have the Hubble Telescope on them,” Courtovich said. “The public relations play on this is far more dangerous.”

Crony Capitalism

Trump’s Carrier deal has been labeled an example of “crony capitalism” by a handful of both Democrats and Republicans, including former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and Larry Summers, a former top economic adviser to President Barack Obama. But past presidents have at times intervened in the economy in similar ways, even if recent presidents have mostly avoided openly manipulating companies.

President John Kennedy in 1962 publicly criticized steel executives for a 3.5 percent price increase. The steel companies backed down after the IRS began auditing executives’ expense accounts and the Justice Department opened an antitrust investigation. Lyndon Johnson, also sensitive to inflation, ordered his surgeon general to highlight the health dangers of cholesterol when egg producers raised prices in 1966.

The difficulty in predicting how an irate Trump might respond is especially unnerving to today’s corporate executives, said William Reinsch, a fellow at the Stimson Center and former president of the National Foreign Trade Council, a business association.

“Until the policy clarifies and they have a better sense of how Trump will behave, I think they’ll wait,” Reinsch said.

Temporary Delay

The delays may only last about six to nine months, said Gary Swedback, president of Mexico operations at commercial real estate broker NAI Global.

Of companies poised to make their first move into Mexico, about a third has postponed deals to gain better insight into Trump’s plans, he said. A Chicago-based developer working with Swedback was ready to purchase three sites in Mexico to build industrial parks. Now, it wants more clarity on how Trump will treat Mexico.

Swedback is optimistic the current slowdown will prove temporary. It would take an all-out trade war with Mexico, not just selective tariffs, to cause companies to end up canceling plans, he said.

“They are telling us very specifically, ‘We are only postponing or delaying until we get a better idea of what to expect,”’ he said. “This time next year, all these investments will be moving forward and the companies will remark that it was too bad they had to delay six to nine months.”


"All that the South has ever desired was that the Union, as established by our forefathers, should be preserved, and that the government, as originally organized, should be administered in purity and truth." – Robert E. Lee
GB4

Joined: May 2011
Posts: 1,382
D
DHN Offline
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
D
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 1,382
I suspect the likelihood of reduced regulations and taxes has more to do with it than the threat of higher tariffs. Trump can cancel current EOs and make some of his own regarding regulations, and a Republican congress will be a lot friendlier to reduced taxes than to increasing tariffs.


Dale

Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 23,319
Campfire Ranger
OP Offline
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 23,319
What is amazing to me is the influence Trump wields before he even takes office. I have never seen this with any other President elect, much less a President who is already in the White House.


"All that the South has ever desired was that the Union, as established by our forefathers, should be preserved, and that the government, as originally organized, should be administered in purity and truth." – Robert E. Lee
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 18,667
Likes: 1
S
sse Offline
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
S
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 18,667
Likes: 1
He's done more for the economy in a few weeks than Obama did in 8 years.


[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]



Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 2,934
D
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
D
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 2,934
This! Evidence that people were looking for a change in Thème du jour.

Originally Posted by OrangeOkie
What is amazing to me is the influence Trump wields before he even takes office. I have never seen this with any other President elect, much less a President who is already in the White House.

IC B2

Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 699
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 699
Originally Posted by sse
He's done more for the economy in a few weeks than Obama did in 8 years.


No


Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich !
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 23,499
7
79S Offline
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
7
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 23,499
Originally Posted by RGinther
Originally Posted by sse
He's done more for the economy in a few weeks than Obama did in 8 years.


No


When was the last time you were right about anything?? You typed away for a few months saying Hillary was going to win.. you were wrong...


Originally Posted by Bricktop
Then STFU. The rest of your statement is superflous bullshit with no real bearing on this discussion other than to massage your own ego.

Suckin' on my titties like you wanted me.
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 309
S
Campfire Member
Offline
Campfire Member
S
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 309
If they continue to outsource the jobs how do they think they will sell any thing

Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 5,932
M
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
M
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 5,932
Originally Posted by OrangeOkie
What is amazing to me is the influence Trump wields before he even takes office. I have never seen this with any other President elect, much less a President who is already in the White House.


You must not have been very aware when Reagan was PE!


Beware of thieves, scammers and dishonest members on the "Fire" classifieds. Ya there is a thief here too. Whatever!!

They're all around the CampFire and everywhere.
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 23,319
Campfire Ranger
OP Offline
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 23,319
Originally Posted by MissouriEd
Originally Posted by OrangeOkie
What is amazing to me is the influence Trump wields before he even takes office. I have never seen this with any other President elect, much less a President who is already in the White House.


You must not have been very aware when Reagan was PE!


Correct . . . I did not pay alot of attention back then. Was finishing up Marine Corps officer candidate school the summer preceding the election, and trying to graduate from college while working a couple of part time jobs. Poor as a church mouse.

What did Reagan do as PE?


"All that the South has ever desired was that the Union, as established by our forefathers, should be preserved, and that the government, as originally organized, should be administered in purity and truth." – Robert E. Lee
IC B3

Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 32,099
Likes: 2
L
las Offline
Campfire 'Bwana
Offline
Campfire 'Bwana
L
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 32,099
Likes: 2
Same as he did as president - laid as many women as he could.


The only true cost of having a dog is its death.

Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 151,474
Likes: 3
Campfire Savant
Online Content
Campfire Savant
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 151,474
Likes: 3
That's good


Moderated by  RickBin 

Link Copied to Clipboard
AX24

705 members (007FJ, 12344mag, 117LBS, 160user, 10gaugeman, 10gaugemag, 71 invisible), 2,996 guests, and 1,350 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Forum Statistics
Forums81
Topics1,191,978
Posts18,480,844
Members73,959
Most Online11,491
Jul 7th, 2023


 


Fish & Game Departments | Solunar Tables | Mission Statement | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | DMCA
Hunting | Fishing | Camping | Backpacking | Reloading | Campfire Forums | Gear Shop
Copyright © 2000-2024 24hourcampfire.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved.



Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5
(Release build 20201027)
Responsive Width:

PHP: 7.3.33 Page Time: 0.102s Queries: 38 (0.006s) Memory: 0.8569 MB (Peak: 0.9287 MB) Data Comp: Zlib Server Time: 2024-05-01 02:20:52 UTC
Valid HTML 5 and Valid CSS