The writer is US Trade Representative

The year 2025 will be remembered as the year of the tariff, regardless of one’s economic ideology. International trade is neither good nor bad — it just is. The real question is whether trade patterns serve the national interest. For President Donald Trump and his administration, that means a trade policy that accelerates re-industrialisation.

America’s growing and persistent trade deficits in manufactured and agricultural goods have been devastating for our country. Multinational corporations may not care where they make their money or products, but it matters for autoworkers in Michigan or cotton farmers in Texas who are trying to sustain local communities. It matters whether innovators have access to knowhow and experience on the factory floor. And it matters whether we have the industrial base capabilities and resilience to ensure our national defence.