The tariff debate has tended to live in the realm of abstraction for people in the Acela Corridor. But for those of us desperately fighting to preserve generational American manufacturing businesses, the effects are anything but theoretical.
My family has been in the tool-making business in West Virginia for more than 170 years. But the underlying market forces in my case are not all that different from those affecting pharmaceuticals or automotives: Years of escalating and outrageous labor practices, anticompetitive foreign government subsidies and inconsistent trade regimes have made it almost impossible for American-made goods to compete with imported products, even in U.S. retail environments.
But in the six weeks following President Trump’s first announcement of reciprocal tariffs, our company saw a 15 percent increase in revenue and a 26 percent jump in orders compared to the six weeks before. Our online traffic saw modest positive movement, but the conversion rate soared to 25 percent because people weren’t just browsing anymore — they were buying. Buying American.
For too long, cheap imports of all manner — often subsidized and subpar — have undercut the integrity and pricing of American-made products. Tariffs have begun to correct that imbalance, giving companies like ours a fighting chance.
That kind of change doesn’t happen in a vacuum. While many tariffs in the first wave have been modified, the administration’s trade posture signals to suppliers, buyers and foreign competitors that the U.S. government is willing to intervene when markets tilt too far in favor of cheap imports. Companies like ours have competed for years not just against foreign products, but against foreign policies such as subsidies, lax labor laws and environmental and health regulations that keep costs artificially low.
Tariffs won’t eliminate that imbalance overnight, but they begin to address it. Buyers who might once have defaulted to lower-cost foreign tools are now reconsidering, either because price differences have narrowed or because they’re taking a second look at quality and origin.
The “Morning Joe” set often describe tariffs as blunt instruments. Don’t use a chainsaw where a scalpel is needed, they say. Others argue that tariffs are a menace to the global trade order and are uselessly protectionist.
But if you polled our employees or workers of similarly situated American manufacturers, they would tell you that they don’t consider the Trump tariffs as protectionist. They regard the policies as patriotic, because they’re reversing decades of inaction, inertia and foolish policy that destroyed jobs, companies and whole communities.
This is a recalibration that supports national resilience, quality jobs and the reindustrialization of once-forgotten communities.
Now, I’m not saying that tariffs are a long-term solution. We still need workforce development, infrastructure investment and equitable trade policy. But tariffs can serve as a short-term corrective, providing a chance for domestic producers to rebuild market share, reinvest in capacity and prove what they can do when given fair footing.
At our own company, we have responded to this recent surge by increasing our staff and production capacity. That’s the sort of outcome that economic and trade policy should aim for — not protection for its own sake, but conditions where U.S. companies can compete on merit.
Tariffs aren’t a cure-all. But the early signs in our experience are unmistakable: Tariffs are helping. And that’s not a political claim, it’s a practical one — based on data, demand and the quiet resurgence of American buyers turning their attention back home.
Chris Azur is president of the Wheeling, W.V.-based Warwood Tool Company.
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