President Trump has proven once again why he’s the most effective advocate for American workers in modern American politics.  He fully understands the threat China poses, and his administration is doing exactly what needs to be done to ensure American competitiveness.

While strengthening our manufacturing, he’s also tackling trade diplomacy with China.  Because President Trump knows we need both: to grow our ability to compete with China by manufacturing right here in the U.S. and also to pursue trade diplomacy that actually helps American businesses and consumers.

The early signals of this effort are positive.

For example, Ford’s $5-billion investment in car manufacturing, announced this week, which includes a new plant that will create nearly 1,700 new U.S. jobs, was made possible by President Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill.  The plant will have American workers create American-made batteries using globally licensed technology, at cost and at scale, to compete with and reduce reliance on foreign-made alternatives.

Trump and Congress protected American businesses’ ability to license such technology in the Big Beautiful Bill because he knew that it would create U.S. jobs and further our economic interests.  He was right. 

In doing so, they stole a page out of China’s playbook.  American companies can now take existing world-class technologies, build them right here at home, and leverage American innovation and industrial prowess to make them even better.

Other companies are announcing battery manufacturing investments here in America, too.  We’ve also seen massive investments from Apple, NVIDIA, and John Deere.  Everyone from tech companies to automakers knows that it’s time to bet on America.

On the trade front, Trump already reached a breakthrough with Beijing, paving the way for eliminating retaliatory tariffs with structured talks to expand market access for American exports.  

This is how Trump wins — not by walking away from the table, but by making sure America has the strongest hand when he sits down. 

So ignore the critics.  Trump knows exactly what he’s doing.  If history is any guide, American workers and American industries will come roaring back for the long haul.

Michael Busler, Ph.D. is a public policy analyst and a professor of finance at Stockton University.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.