As a retiree from 35 years in manufacturing it is encouraging to see we are coming to our senses and acknowledge that industry builds the wealth of society

Meanwhile silicon valley outsourcing thousands of jobs to India and nobody is talking about it.

This whole idea is what is needed not only for US but also Canada.....for so many reason....maybe someday we can once again talk to someone in North America when you need customer service...or dare I say, even somone locally!

This storyline is brilliant. Capturing the entire process from crop to manufacturing was a great idea.

As an international business student back in the days, the first things you learn are Adam Smith and David Ricardo’s theories on free trade. And it’s easy to hold it as true and the right way to do business. Only after so many years, its harm on environment, society and communities become apparent and makes you realize the system had so many hidden costs that were not discussed back then

I was a strong believer in global markets as a way to improve the world but never imagined how it would hurt US manufacturers and communities. I might have been wrong. Thanks for a great documentary.

I am 63 years old. All my life we have been in some kind of economic problem. During periods when the economy was "good", it was triggered by massive spending and debt. This country has never been allowed to flourish the way it could. This period reminds me of the 1970s when I first experienced inflation. I remember buying cigarettes from a vending machine and how quickly they went up in price. In the mid-'70s, cigarettes cost around 60 cents. $1. Today's inflation is the worst I've ever seen and it's a fire that more spending can't put out. If compared to the potential of our countries, we are in a total depression. Regardless of what you've experienced in your 'So Far, always keep in mind that debt and free-flowing credit have been responsible for it. The chickens have come home to roost and economic mother nature is about to crash. head out. Does anyone realize we used to have 25 million well paid?" Manufacturing jobs here in the US where you could actually afford to raise a family? All of those jobs were shipped offshore so big corporations could use slave labor and game the system more. When I was a child, fathers worked and mothers raised children and You could do it on the salary of a salaryman. Today they both work and cannot make ends meet. We have been robbed blindly and there will be hell to pay for all the suffering and misery that our corrupt politicians have done to us.

Excellent segment, bravo FT for showcasing how the offshoring of our manufacturing base has led us to where we are today. There's a saying idle hands make a devil's work. The US needs a meaningful and diverse job mix that challenges the hearts, minds, and hands. There's nothing wrong with four-year degrees, except that many people are NOT cut out for that road.

Once America turns its attention to something, nothing can stop it. We need an economy that works for regular people, hopefully we are heading in that direction.

Having seen the way that US manufacturing gave away its jobs and factories, at least from the early 1980s, as did the UK under Thatcher, it is good to see industries rebounding now. An enjoyable film, I thought!

The Covid-19 pandemic has been a huge wake up call on many fronts … and one of the most revealing being the fragility of our global supply chains. I see this movement as a silver lining in rebuilding more value-added tertiary economies that truly support the regional communities’ developments.

I wish to see good quality "Made in USA" products with fair price on the shelves of every country once again.

So revealing, so thought provoking and unlearning challenging. I'm not American, I come from the emerging economy side of the story and globalization kind of killed our industries too and our local production. We only get a piece of the supply chain and then we don't necessarily reap the benefits of a "cheaper price".

The same thing happened Here in Canada, my hometown lost 1000’s of manufacturing jobs in the 1990’s. I.e. cotton mill operated there for over 100 years. The town is a shadow of its self now.

As a younger generation gives me hope for my country 🎉

Excellent presentation. I've been an advocate for the American lead world order but things have gotten out of hand since the 1980s. I'm in the middle of Rana's latest book, "Homecoming" and it is an amazingly succinct and interesting read. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in this video. Thanks, Rana.

I live in Australia I have a shirt made in the USA, it is one of the best quality shirts I have owned in my 60 years.

"American giving away its own prosperity".... that's it in nutshell. Thank you for this video. More of this please!!

❤ I remember growing up in the Philippines in the mid & late seventies always looking for the tag “Made in America.” Levi’s Jeans was so in demand but anything made in America meant quality, status & also abit exclusive.

Great piece. I'm Europen but no less share the view that onshoring of skills is essential for our societies, economies and our environment. Finally, someone is making sense!

Our company developed and manufactures products here in the Netherlands. Never thought of moving production to China because it's not efficient at all. Maybe mass production works that way but in the long run it is not worth it. We sell all over the world but we're not selling it out of nationalistic sentiments, but because we want to make the best products for the world.

Brilliant Rana. This is so timely.The best example of a successful model was german Industry spending money to retrain its workforce and investments in new manufacturing.This is how germany became so successful. Idea of buying cheap, no matter where it comes from, helps Walmart but not Americans.If cheap labor is what the US needs, use Central/South America.Time to reshore and create regional manufacuring.This is what will sustain rural American communities

Re American Giant, it is a good example of an overall very good story. At $138 for a hoodie and $198 for a pair of standard chinos though, how many American families can afford them? I guess we'll have to get used to having fewer, better pieces of clothing rather than more, cheaper, throw-away clothes. Can our culture evolve to that though?

Back in late 2019, I found an American-made cotton shirt for $45 in Amsterdam, and another cotton shirt made in Pakistan for $10. I bought both. The Pakistani shirt started breaking off after three washes, and the American one is a shirt that I still wear as of October 2023. It also still looks quite new. The same goes to how it feels, even though, you’d think it would be worn out by now, given that I wear it three times a week, and sometimes more than that. So, the extra 35 bucks was definitely worth it. You can save 35 dollars on a shirt, and wear a shirt for a month or two. But, you can also spend more, an actually keep that shirt for at least five years, if not more. The same goes for all kinds of clothing, or anything else really.

Good to see America re-shoring, cutting dependency and limiting itself to domestic consumption instead of trading with other countries and leaving the rest of the world to trade with each other in local currencies without being subject to US sanctions.

This video completely changed my mind about globalization and free market in an economic perspective! so good and helpful! Great job

Great presentation, I am so proud of USA manufacturing because it brings us to train work skills and establishes a personal pride in products and developments together for the good of all.

Thank you for this reporting. This is such an important topic. America is almost breathing It’s last breath on the world stage because of everyone that has sold out the American worker

American made hand tools are the best tools ever made. The quality and longevity are second to none, such as Estwing Hammers and Marshalltown trowels. I stocked up over lockdown incase the supply chain to the UK got stopped. Same as others said about T-shirts, great quality. One happy UK customer. Peace

Great to see educational and positive-story reporting. It feels so refreshing.

Note the rising use of Automation. (L)abor is being replaced by (K)apital.

There is a problem here that needs to be tackled in my opinion: monopolies.If there is only one or two companies that produces a product then the consumer will be screwed with either collusive prices, lowering quality , etc while not having the option to buy cheaper imported goods.While I fully support this I also think that there will be problems and I have little hope politicians will be up to the task of solving them because they are incentivized to look the other way while the rich profit. I hope they prove me wrong

I still need to see a hard look at the added cost to consumers of place-based economics. We see clothing from China, Vietnam, India, etc., and it's cheaper than it's ever been before. How much more are American consumers willing to pay? From the policies and success of Walmart, they're not willing to pay anything more.

Another added benefit, if you have the skills to manufacture locally then you've got the skills to repair and maintain. More expensive, high quality goods made locally - less cheap tat that lasts a few weeks

Yes, America should build everything it needs and not buy from anywhere. An absolutely excellent idea.

FANTASTIC!!! This research is a priceless Revelation Restore the Manufacturing fortunes of America. We allowed our treasures to be plundered...No more..we are restoring our glory a 100-fold

It’s greedy manufacturers and company shareholders that’s driving companies overseas.

A really interesting documentary. beyond the main subject of the nearshorization of the industry -which in itself is fascinating-, we rarely have the opportunity to see so closely what a modern cotton mill looks like in the XXIst century, and the massive sophistication of the machines in use today.

My concern is that most of the new manufacturing jobs are non-union and in the South so they only end up adding jobs to one region and with those low wages, you might as well as be working at a more dangerous version of Walmart.

What we need is a whole lot more Americans thinking about America ! I think a lot of the crime that goes on is there's few places to get a job . We need to restart America again like it was 50 years ago , I sure do miss the good old days .

Very interesting series of videos from FT. Thank you!

I something wonder, is anybody on the left or the right in the US still checking unemployment numbers? And is anybody still willing to tell US folks, they'll most likely have to endure a decade of high inflation going forward with a labor market in short supply and raising import barriers... labor productivity is flat for years not only in the US but also Europe. There is also the demographic transition.. There won't be a post-globalisation world - production will only look for even more cheap labor markets compared to China like SEA.

Made in America always sounded good to me. Hopefully, this will indeed lead to better jobs and wages for the workforce in general.

As soon as I saw the title of this video, I thought of American Giant. I paid $100 for one of their hoodies, their first product, and it's still perfect, years later, after wearing it very frequently for years. And, as someone born and raised in Fall River, MA (a former textile POWERHOUSE in the USA badly hurt socially and economically by globalization), I can testify to this film's points.

So happy to see this point of view. This is what needs to happen. I will support these American companies. I've wanted to see this ever since Bill Clinton signed the injurious NAFTA agreement.

With all the technology there aren't really all that many jobs being created. It's a relatively few people running the factory now. The benefit I see is more the ability to build things we need locally instead of relying so much on foreign production.

Brilliant documentary….. so pleased to see “the small guy” being represented and recognised as being someone that can and does make things happen as well as a positive agent of change.

America is great when manufacturing returns. Instead of being reliant on other countries, we could now be self-sufficient. This is great for national security as well as the local job market.

Cotton is comfortable. It is even more comfortable if it feeds a family in Bangladesh.

This is terrific journalism. Thank you so much 👏🏾👍🏾🙏🏾

Great video. I hope it encourages politicians and business people to switch to the broader and better sustainable (socially and environmentally) view on the economy away from short term finance only. And it better be quick as the world, not only America, needs it.

Fantastic documentary. An informative and non-political discussion about addressing real problems to help people live better and more fulfilling lives. Maybe legacy media is not dead.

picking textiles as the example for the video makes a lot of sense with the Xinjiang counter-example, great video.

A Capitalist When They Are Winning: "Free trade good!" A Capitalist When They Are Losing: "Free trade bad!"

Rana, Thank you for your invaluable contribution to this vital issue of "homecoming". Your balanced study of every element of the issue is so important. All of us - politicians, boards, investors, employees and teachers have a part to play in returning our countries to the economic standing that our forebears fought so hard for. Thank you.

Very educational. Thank you kindly for such good content and reporting. I would love to also learn about the actual innovation and brilliance behind the making of these miraculous machines that work so fast and are highly specialized. I also watch videos of "How It's Made" for this reason. Human ingenuity is such an amazing thing. For example, in this video where he man says the cotton machines takes a little bit off the top to insure the blending happens, my immediate question is "how does it know and how does it actually do that exactly?!". Humans are awesome. :)

Excellent video. We need to revive American Manufacturing.

Thank you for the very good video, I liked it a lot. However, being from a high income European country, that still retains most of it's manufacturing jobs (Germany), the question in my opinion should not be: Globalization vs local prosperity, but rather: How can we enable the local prosperity through globalization. Because in the end, this is the model Germany persued. The country has a lot of small and medium sized "hidden champions", that have their niche in manufacturing, but also big car companies and machine making companies and all of those massively profited from globalization, by outsourcing the part of the production process, that was not profitable in Germany, but keeping the value adding stuff in the country. The main things are three-fold in my opinion: 1. having a product, made in the USA, that people globally would like to buy (e.g. Caterpillar, Weber Grills etc.) and 2. valueing manufactured goods locally. As an example: most of my kitchen appliances and general machines in the house are from German brands and also made in Germany and that is the case for many homes here. 3. sharing the prosperity inside the country and not have winner-takes all regions. The disparity between apalachia and the Silicon Valley for example would be bridged by tax transfers in most European countries for example. With the downside of course, that a European Silicon Valley would be less profitable due to these transfers.

As an Indian, I can surely say that de-globalization of manufacturing is good for all democratic countries, society and economy. It brings jobs for local low-skilled citizens and brings equality, social security, increasing the number of rich people against one ultra rich and builds a robust supply chain. This is why we are focusing heavily on self-dependency in manufacturing and technology. Instead of just buying cheap Chinese goods(where people are worked to death btw), try to buy local better quality products. But, global co-operation on technology and investment should not be gone . Thus good of both sides can be achieved 😌

Most encouraging story I've heard in 25 years! Thank you

Great insight & different angle and perspective . Tq2 FT😄🙏

Fantastic watch and a very pertinent topic. Very well made film team FT !

Excellent video. Very interesting times. I'm a maintenance tech in the food industry. There always looking for people at work. There's going to be massive labor inflation with all the boomers retiring. I feel I could work anywhere and have been heavily recruited. My sector really needs a boost. All of my coworkers are older than me and close to retirement. The trades need to come back and fast. It's a very rewarding job that pays well. I don't know why the younger generations aren't interested. Hopefully us Americans get are house in order. Whatever politicians thought a service economy was a good idea are crazy

Great Info ! Thank you . I live in S.C. I'm looking forward to the growth we are about to experience!

Great documentary. I could not agree more!

Lighthizer is a reactionary. He worked under the Reagan administration that pursued anti-union, wage-suppressing 'trickledown', economics. All to boost corporate profits and stock prices for Wall street. These republicans now point the finger at Clinton who merely followed through on the financialization inherent in Reaganite Wall street centric economic policies. The implication of the latter was anti-inflationary input suppression with labor, capital, and material cost inputs suppressed. With regulations also slackened, the natural outcome was the migration of manufacturing to the lowest-cost producer. This disadvantaged US-based manufacturers but earned US financial institutions excess profits as money invested abroad was recycled back into the financial markets. Anti-globalisation is the United States Brexit, very popular now until the costs come home to roost, and Lighthizer places himself on a pulpit as the US Farage, selling the US population a mirage that is economically unrealistic. The last prosperous manufacturing self-sufficient decade in the US was the 1950s, the 1960s experienced a decline with the 1970s and 80s experiencing deeper declines in manufacturing from foreign competition, and by the 1990s the offshoring of manufacturing was in earnest.

I would definitely buy made in America if high quality at the reasonable price. But I highly doubt it. We lost our manufacturing jobs to 🇨🇳, now we wanted them back, it takes time if we could.

Congratulations Rana. Real debate about real problems. That is real journalism.

Interesting to see the long term trends of manufacturing on display in this video. Really well done!

What's not said in this video is that physical manufacturing jobs went overseas, but the US service sector has a surplus of about $50 billion with China. Also, FAS (Foreign Affiliate Sales), sales by US companies or their subsidiaries sell about $600 billion to the Chinese domestic market. Like Trump, if you focus on one specific transaction, like exports vs imports, you don't get the total picture. Further, in totality, the US growth of wealth is doing just fine in spite of the naysayers in this video. "•Together the U.S. and Europe accounted for 27% of global exports and 32% of global imports in 2018. But together they accounted for 63% of the outward stock and 58% of the inward stock of global FDI. Moreover, each partner has built up the great majority of that stock in the other economy....... •European firms based in the U.S. accounted for 51% of the $383 billion in U.S. exports by U.S.-based foreign affiliates in 2017. UK, German and Dutch firms based in the U.S. accounted for 63% of U.S. exports by European companies in 2017.... • U.S. foreign affiliate sales in Europe of $3.2 trillion in 2018 were greater than total U.S. exports to the world of $2.5 trillion and roughly half of total U.S. foreign affiliate sales globally. "(Transatlantic Council) US foreign affiliate sales total $6.4 trillion, and exports totaled $2.5 trillion, for a total wealth inflow to the US of $8.9 trillion. "Imports were $3,387.7 billion, up $576.5 billion from 2020" (US BEA) So, though the US shows a trade deficit in goods and services, its domestic sales in foreign markets of $6,4 trillion. overwhelm any deficit. (only products show a deficit) What is good for the US is bad for US manufacturing labor, but that is for good reason. US multinationals make more profit where the labor costs, productivity, and logistics makes good business sense where they can maximize profits. Even small businesses in the US are not charity cases and they will perform well in niche areas where large companies either cannot compete or find the business too small for their business. Having said that, the video also shows small US businesses bragging about the labor savings they achieve using automation and machines to increase their productivity. They are doing exactly the right thing to grow a profitable business. Further, it is US automation that has displaced more jobs than the jobs that went overseas. "Machines are replacing workers who perform routine tasks. Think elevator operator and toll collector. That means “there are fewer of these jobs,” according to the paper’s lead author, MIT economist Daron Acemoglu....Those routine jobs also get squeezed when companies send work abroad. But Acemoglu said that’s a smaller factor. “Automation has happened more pervasively across the economy. So offshoring has focused on a fewer number of sectors.” (marketplace.org)

Such a wonderful thing that manufacturing jobs are returning to the US and the West! ❤

I was very interested in the cotton gin. Both my dad and my grandfather worked for Murry Gin Company back in the 50s and 60s building cotton gins. I am sure they are much more automated now.

Very surprised and refreshing to see good videos like this from FT. I completely lost trust in big media like FT.

if you replace US here, with any other country everyone would call this propaganda. I find it double standards as always from this sort of media companies... people in poor countries should have some of this low level jobs, no need to do all in rich countries.

I am just starting to go into Manufacturing here in South Africa as a South African and I am learning from your documentary. Thank you

Stunning! Thanks very much! Best wishes for all of you hard working people with dreams.We can make it! Greatings from Madrid.

The Financial Times have been putting out some really great content recently and this was no exception. It was as uplifting as it was insightful, thanks for posting.

The last product I bought here in Europe of which I can remember that it had the label "Made in USA" on it, was a Western Digital hard disk some 15 years ago.

If I were a cynic, then I would say that this clothing company is only manufacturing in the U.S so that they can justify their high prices and make more of a profit. This is something called "brand positioning" that every business student learns about in year one. They have positioned themselves as an American brand which allows them to charge a premium. The brand makes money, and the consumer feels proud of their purchase. This is just a giant ad.

Really like this! Hope the American manufacturing recovers over the next few decades to what it once was.

From a geopolitical standpoint, the US pulling out of the TPP was the stupidest possible decision. We could have used the TPP to counter Chinese influence in AIPAC. As it is, our pulling out left a power vacuum, into which stepped China. Regionalization can be a good thing, but isolationism isn't. As this film points out, financialization is never a good thing, and is just another method for Wall Street to hollow out the economy for their own short term profit.

As someone who worked in american manufacturing, this will never happen. There is waaaay to much labor in most industries to make it profitable. Maybe with human level AI or something but not before that.

An excellent production. The reporting and interviews were superb, as are most Financial Times productions I have viewed.

Thanks Rana for sharing, great documentary. Couldn't agree more on "Head, Heart and Hand" use in going local!

And here is even more important news: Beijing is dumping US dollars in anticipation of the collapse of this currency. China has increased its purchases of gold from Russia. Because he will now build his own currency zone. And for this, the more gold, the better. The global economic downturn will continue for several more years, after which the world will need a fairly long period to recover. Therefore, China is rapidly getting rid of the toxic dollar at an accelerated pace.

A very truthful valuable documentary. Thanks for making this!

Glad to see that we are bring manufacturing back home

Thank you @FT for the depth of analysis and production in bringing such a complex conversation and making it digestible for your YT audience. This was very enlightening and entertaining. Fantastic work.

Thanks ft crew for bringing some optimism

I live in Central America and the amount of foreign investment coming into the region over the past couple of years has been almost unprecedented, mostly due to companies bringing back manufacturing from Asia to nearby locations where they can be better integrated into US supply chains, creating jobs both down here and in the US. Whether its textiles and other labor intensive goods in northern Central America (as mentioned in this video), or computer chips and more technological goods to Costa Rica, it has allowed these economies some hope of recovery from COVID. But these are small countries and while the amount of investment is very significant to local economies, its a drop in the bucket that is barely noticed by China, Vietnam and other Asian economies. Biden's policies have certainly contributed to this onshoring and nearshoring of manufacturing, but I don't see the US dependence on Chinese manufacturing ending any time soon. It's going to be a long process.

I love seeing made in the U.S. products. Nice one.

this is an excellent, excellent video. would be great to see the US get its industrial glory back after decades of neoliberal policies.

How do you want to bring back manufacturing if there are no workers left to do it? In all western countries there is a lack of people willing and able to do manual work in production and maintenance.

Excellent report, very informative. Thank you.

Love ❤️❤️❤️ and respect for a new resurgence of US economy after post globalization.... Shobhan roy from Bangladesh.. Working as a Nurse.....

What a wonderful film. It is all coming back and America will be better as a result.

Nice review. The graphics projected onto physical objects was really sharp and polished. I lean left and it pains me knowing Clinton got us here and Trump was the first one to do something about it with all of his angry rhetoric and targeted tariffs. Biden is keeping the the pressure up too. US Fed Funds was essentially 0.25% from 2000 to 2016 reflecting the anemic growth as a result of "globalization" and a central bank worried about "deflation". Now the FF rate is climbing to 3.75% and beyond. Perhaps we are returning to a pre-globalization economy with 5% Fed Funds rate a normal level again to keep inflation at 2%.

Localized economies are good for all sovereign countries. The challenge is need for export of the excess produce. This brings about globalization. The competition in global markets and 'free economy' mechanisms lead to loss of jobs in some countries and gains are made elsewhere. The it goes all back in a circle. Its important to match production and local market demand. Follow the tech war happening now, it will be a full circle 30 years later due to lack of enough local market.

The well spoken presenter really makes this film a joy to watch and feel oh-so professional

This is great it’s about time to bring our skills home again. I’m Canadian and I totally agree that we need to bring our jobs and skills back home, for our sake and our communities.