Plant Rat

When discussing reshoring of manufacturing the focus is often on the cost/benefit anaylsis. 

Things like currency exchange rates, labor costs, productivity factor into the math. A more subjective discussion that sometimes occurs is whether we should reshore. Does it makes sense for a country to help nurture manufacturing within the borders. The article I posted about yesterday made the case that the US government "should shamelessly court companies to America and help them expand when they get here"

But what happens when other countries engage in such active incentivizing? The solar industry is in the news a lot because it is a new industry going through growing pains. The US, at local and national levels, did encourage solar companies to establish manufacturing sites with hopes that there would be new successful businesses established with new jobs and increased tax base. An Arizona plant is closing reportedly as a result of "part of solar trade battle between the U.S. and China".

I could not understand the direct relationship between the tariff war and the plant closing. Perhaps the plant imported components subject to the tariff from China that were assembled in the plant.

A commenter had an interesting take on the issue

Commenter:

I'm extremely sorry for the loss of jobs... but here's a different school of thought... if we *didn't* have the tariffs on Chinese imports, would we save 40% on solar panels and have more installations of solar, which would create tens of thousands of jobs here in Arizona.... plus the installation of solar panels on homes would result in low - or no - cost for electricity each month. That savings of money would then stay in the pocket of the resident, which would then hopefully go into the local economy. Savings like this could also be applied to people who replace their home internet, home phone, and home television services with the connection they get through their mobile phone... which in the next few years will be free as ad/app/etc revenue per device will exceed the monthly cost for phone service. If you're saying "no way", just remember when that thing called the radio and television came out.... people said no way will this take off, no way will you be able to get this in people's homes, and no way will you be able to make money off of it.

　

I think that in addition to the positive impacts he mentioned, the jobs, at least at this plant, would have been saved.  Essentially the Chinese government is subsidizing the US.