America’s Manufacturing Revival Requires Killing Overregulation

Forget Tariffs

The narrative that China dominates manufacturing because of cheap labor is BS. While China's wages were once rock-bottom, decades of economic growth have driven their labor costs up —now surpassing significantly, those in countries like Vietnam or Bangladesh. Yet, China continues to outpace us in production, and we keep buying their goods. Why? Unlike China’s lean system, U.S. manufacturers face a maze of EPA, OSHA, and local rules that jack up costs and delay projects—environmental, labor, safety, and permitting rules and unconscionable time delays—inflate costs and stifle innovation. Such mandates as parental leave, child care or prevailing wages make building and operating factories here prohibitively expensive, for no meaningful benefit. This regulatory chokehold, not foreign wages, is why we’ve outsourced our industrial base.

Tariffs won’t fix this—they’re a disastrous distraction. High tariffs might force manufacturing onshore, but our regulations would still inflate costs, making American goods outrageously expensive. Everyday items would become luxuries, tanking our standard of living. Tariffs just rig markets and hurt consumers without making us competitive. The answer? Deregulate. Streamline permits, cut compliance burdens, and let businesses thrive. Lower costs mean cheaper goods and real global competitiveness.

Slash the regulatory state to unleash the free market. Cheaper factories mean cheaper products, more jobs, and a restored industrial edge—without tariff-driven price hikes. This isn’t about ditching standards; it’s about choosing liberty over bureaucracy. Protectionism is a fantasy; deregulation is the only path to a manufacturing revival that doesn’t screw over consumers. Let’s stop kidding ourselves with protectionist fantasies and embrace the only solution that works: cutting the red tape that’s strangling our potential.