Trump Warns US Companies: "Tariffs Imposed If Overseas Jobs Not Brought Back"... Unemployment Worsens

On the 20th (local time), President Donald Trump is giving a speech at a factory in Old Forge, Pennsylvania, USA.
[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on domestic companies with overseas operations if they do not bring jobs back to the United States. As new unemployment claims in the U.S. unexpectedly rose again to over one million within a week, it appears he is putting all his efforts into job creation ahead of the November presidential election.

According to Bloomberg News and others on the 20th (local time), President Trump said at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, "If I am re-elected, companies that bring jobs back to America will receive tax benefits, and those that do not will face tariffs," adding, "They will have to pay us a lot of money." He further stated, "So what will they do? They will bring jobs back."

This statement came alongside Trump's earlier remark on the 17th that he would create 10 million jobs within 10 months and provide benefits to companies reshoring manufacturing facilities from China back to the U.S. Calling himself the 'economic president,' he emphasized that if re-elected, the U.S. economy would rebound from the economic shock caused by COVID-19 and vowed to make the great economy great again, appealing to voters. Bloomberg News added that Trump did not provide specific details on tax or tariff plans at this event.

Despite President Trump's determination, pessimism is growing as job creation remains difficult while COVID-19 continues to rage in the U.S. On this day, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that new unemployment claims for the week of August 9-15 totaled 1,106,000 (seasonally adjusted), surpassing one million again after a week. The previous week (August 2-8) saw 971,000 claims, marking the first time in 21 weeks since mid-March, when the COVID-19 crisis began, that claims fell below one million, but the number increased by 135,000 in just one week. This figure was far more pessimistic than the expert forecast of 920,000 compiled by Bloomberg News.

The market interprets this as meaning that the recovery of the employment market is not happening easily. Between February and April, 22 million jobs disappeared in the U.S., but only about 9.3 million have been recovered so far. The unemployment rate is also at 10.2%, three times higher than the 3.4% level before the spread of COVID-19 in February. On this day, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) projected that the number of workers next year will be 229.4 million, which is 37 million fewer than last year's estimate.

Scott Anderson, Chief Economist at Bank of the West, told The New York Times (NYT), "This shows that the momentum of recovery is slowing," adding, "The labor market is in intensive care, and a shot of adrenaline through fiscal support is needed."

Local media express concerns that economic burdens may increase in the future. With the federal government's weekly $600 unemployment benefits having ended at the end of last month, discussions on additional stimulus packages between the White House, Republicans, and Democrats have reached a deadlock, which could exacerbate difficulties.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.