Oh I see , sry was on the bus at the time , hard to read on phone with such shaking . I ' m asking for funny voices honey <| sep |> Thanks but for how long ? <| sep |> Then somebody obviously deleted the button from the Internet <| sep |> Well they have greater productivity per worker due to mechanization , but manufacturing jobs have been leaving the US due to free trade deals . So total manufacturing output is down . Raw material extraction would increase , though that ' s only because you can ' t outsource that . Not at all , the real manufacturing output of the US has increased , not decreased . It has gotten less labour intensive and more efficient , but total manufacturing output is up , not down . If firms are leaving the US because of high labour costs which in itself is an oversimplification , but let ' s assume this is the primary reason , what makes you think they will stick around if you try and force them to stay ? Or if you taxed their products that they import ? Aggregate demand would go down , and the consumer would lose . As much as folks want to turn back the clock , you ' re never going to reinvigorate labour intensive manufacturing . It ' s just like you ' re never going to revive labour intensive farming . You know there was a time when most Americans were employed in agriculture , but would you say it ' s a bad thing that they aren ' t anymore ? Plus , raw materials can and are ' outsourced '. That ' s one of the biggest reasons that Canada is still America ' s largest trading partner that and they are the top exporter of parts manufacturing and services to the US .