Data sourced from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Census Bureau.
Manufacturing inputs are classified as all goods that fall under the capital goods, industrial supplies, and auto parts end use categories.
Trade
Pursuing Policies that Improve Manufacturers’ Competitiveness and Create More Jobs and Investment in the United States.
Trading to Win
Manufacturers are offering a clear, actionable agenda to strengthen U.S. manufacturing through common-sense trade policy:
Manufacturers operate on thin margins. We need predictability to plan, compete, invest and hire. The right trade policy can unlock new opportunities for growth—strengthening supply chains, creating jobs and ensuring America is the manufacturing superpower
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1
Go for Zero-for-Zero Tariffs
We’re calling on negotiators to secure better terms for manufacturers by adopting zero-for-zero tariffs for American-made products in our trading partners’ markets. That means they don’t charge us, and we don’t charge them.
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2
Protect Inputs That Power U.S. Production
More than half of U.S. imports are manufacturing inputs. These include critical minerals, chemicals and machinery essential for making things in America. On the path to zero-for-zero, we urge negotiators to take out of scope specific manufacturing inputs we need to make things in America.
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3
Create American Investment Incentives
If tariffs remain in place, we propose specific incentives, such as tariff rebates for manufacturing companies investing in manufacturing in the U.S. to accelerate the growth of the American industrial base.
Trade Intelligence Center
Key Facts
56%
of goods imported to the U.S. are manufacturing inputs
1/3
of all imported manufacturing inputs originate in North America
59%
of imports from Mexico are manufacturing inputs
70%
of imports from Canada are manufacturing inputs
% who use imported manufacturing inputs to make things in America
% who use imported manufacturing inputs from USMCA partners
% of those who use inputs from USMCA partners that lack comparably priced domestic sources
Among all manufacturing respondents*
91%
74%
82%
Among small and medium manufacturer respondents**
87%
63%
75%
Manufacturers across America will see a rise in the cost of intermediate input products from tariffs
+5%
+53%
Estimated Increase in Effective Tariff Rate on Mfg Inputs
1State manufacturing output figures derived from 2023 regional data tables produced by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. 2Percentage of intermediate manufacturing inputs sourced from outside the U.S. derived from U.S. EPA's StateIO - Open Source Economic Input-Output Models for the 50 States of the United States of America and USA Trade Import Destination by State, 2023 tables. Li, M., J. Ferreira, C. Court, D. Meyer, M. Li, AND Wesley W. Ingwersen. StateIO - Open Source Economic Input-Output Models for the 50 States of the United States of America. International Regional Science Review. SAGE Publications, THOUSAND OAKS, CA, 46(4):428-481, (2023). https://doi.org/10.1177/01600176221145874 3Average increase in effective tariff rate is computed from the difference of the average effective tariff rate due on manufacturing inputs between Dec.31, 2024 and Apr.30, 2025. 4Average manufacturing gross margin is computed from 2021 U.S. Census Bureau Annual Survey of Manufacturers data and is calculated as 1 - ((Payroll + Cost of Materials)/Revenue)
What Manufacturers Are Saying on Tariffs
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Trump’s first 100 days
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NAM's Timmons on NewsNation
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Local manufacturer casts wary gaze toward tariffs
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Cincinnati's trade-dependent $199B economy braces for tariffs
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Timmons Talks Trade, Tax and Regulations in NYC Morning Media Swing
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Central Ohio company feeling the impacts of tariffs
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Dardas: Tariffs threaten American manufacturers
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Drowning in Tariffs, American businesses try to stay afloat
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The Promise of the USMCA
President Trump’s USMCA succeeded in shifting manufacturing imports away from China to North America. In this new phase of U.S. trade policy, strengthening the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement will be critical in helping North America restore balance and combat disruptive, problematic trade practices coming out of other countries, specifically China.
View and download the NAM’s new one pager that assesses the impact and value of U.S imports of manufacturing inputs from North America.
