No matter what tariffs and other trade barriers Donald Trump and team enact, in the face of relentless automation the halcyon days of manufacturing employment aren’t coming back. There will also always be competitors, including American companies, who actually compete, who drive productivity gains that both destroy and create jobs. If Trump wants to ensure that US companies and workers lead the pack, he has to make America competitive again. Counterproductive mercantilist gestures won’t do it. He has to tackle multiple Augean stables befouled by the government he will soon lead. It shall indeed be a Herculean task.

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