More than 170,000 new U.S. manufacturing jobs were announced in 2017 as a result of either reshoring or foreign direct investment (FDI). That’s an increase of 52 percent from 2016 and an incredible 2,800 percent from 2010. Such announcements typically lead to hiring within six to 24 months. This is proof that work can be successfully brought to the U.S. from offshore.
With the right policies in place, there is significant potential for many more jobs to come back. When measured by our trade deficit of about $500 billion per year, there are still 3 million to 4 million U.S. manufacturing jobs offshore at current productivity levels, representing a huge potential for economic growth. Measured by our $700 billion non-petroleum goods trade deficit, there are about
5 million jobs still offshore.