“We have been planning for a potential scenario in which we would have to move goods out of China more quickly,” CEO Edward Rosenfeld told analysts on the call. “We’ve worked hard over a multiyear period to develop our factory base and our sourcing capability in alternative countries, like Cambodia, Vietnam, Mexico, Brazil, etc.”
Tariffs alone will never build a domestic base. They can be part of a strategy to do that, but they must be paired with subsidies and tax breaks. It’s very expensive to develop a manufacturing base, so it must be done strategically. Generally it’s only worth doing for critical infrastructure and basic necessities. It’s part of why the US has focused primarily on food production and power.