The tariffs introduced by the Trump administration—and the dizzying dance of pausing, pulling back, and then reintroducing them—have created a cloud of uncertainty over the design and product development industry in the U.S. We are seeing it firsthand.
Some of our clients are hitting pause. U.S.-based partners, the vast majority of whom rely on manufacturing in Asia, are waiting to see where the dust settles. Meanwhile, our international clients are growing uneasy. Several have pulled back entirely, worried that elevated product costs will make their goods unviable in the U.S. market. Even the threat of tariffs is enough to slow the machine.
And who can blame them? Tariffs go up, people freeze shipments. Orders are canceled. Containers wait at the docks because no one wants to gamble on a sudden multi-million dollar duty. All of this adds friction, delays, and ultimately cost—costs that many companies can’t afford to absorb.
Beyond the near-term market jitters, there's a deeper misunderstanding at play—one that we keep encountering in the national conversation. We keep hearing, “Let’s bring manufacturing back to the U.S.” It’s a noble rallying cry, but it's also deeply misinformed.
From our deep experience—decades of working side-by-side with some of the most advanced manufacturing partners around the globe—this isn’t something you just turn back on. The truth is, in this country we’ve lost much of the capability required for high-volume, high-quality production. Not just the factories, but the tooling, the talent, the trades, and the interconnected supply networks that quietly work in harmony behind the scenes.
When you visit factories in China, and really spend time with the teams there, you see just how advanced and interconnected the system has become there. You don’t just see a single manufacturer. You see a vast neighborhood of networked specialists. If you need a custom connector, or a specific precision part, there’s a shop down the road that’s been doing just that—at scale, for years. It’s invisible at first, but once you dig deeper, the complexity and fluency of the system is astonishing.
That’s the part people underestimate. We aren’t just behind in infrastructure. We’re behind in mindset, in training, in culture. America became a service economy, and we let go of the physical, tactile disciplines that once made us great at making things. Toolmakers, machinists, production engineers—they’re not coming out of our schools like they used to. And that won’t change quickly.
We’ve seen the decline ourselves. Years ago, we worked with many toolmakers and factories in places like Arizona and Chicago. They were brilliant. And then they were gone. Offshored. Shuttered. A generation of talent walked out the door. Rebuilding that isn’t a policy change. It’s a cultural shift. And it will take a long time to get back.
We think that instead of trying to reclaim the past, we should define a new industrial identity—one rooted in innovation, specialization, creativity and high purpose. There are categories where we must lead, and they’re not driven by volume. They’re driven by intelligent vision and complexity:
These are products that don’t rely on volume. They rely on vision, precision, and bold engineering. And they’re worth investing in. These are the kinds of things we can build here—and arguably must. That’s the right kind of onshoring.
Let’s not pretend we should be making socks or $20 toasters again. It doesn’t make sense economically or strategically. Let countries with the scale, labor force, and infrastructure take on those challenges. India, Vietnam, Mexico—these countries are stepping up. They’re ambitious and ready to inherit the manufacturing legacy that China has built.
Our role should be different. More intentional. More inventive. More design-led. We need to define a new industrial identity—one that leans into innovation, low-volume excellence, and specialized expertise.
There’s also a cultural reckoning here. For many Americans, the idea of working in a factory has been stigmatized. We glamorize software and services. But real prosperity comes when we value the people who build real things. That cultural pride in making—that needs to come back too.For now, we remain optimistic, but clear-eyed. We’re working to diversify supply chains, exploring partners in less-tariffed countries. We’re watching, listening, adjusting. And we’re staying honest with our clients: manufacturing transformation takes time, money, and grit.
This moment—uncomfortable as it is—might just be the catalyst we need. Not to rewind the clock, but to forge a smarter, more sustainable path forward. One where America doesn’t try to make everything. Just the things that matter most.
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