Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories
Newsroom
Nov 12, 2025
Tariffs Undermine the American Manufacturing Renaissance
By Edmund O. Schweitzer III - Published in The Washington Times - Wednesday, November 5, 2025
A case before the Supreme Court this week, Trump v. V.O.S. Selections Inc., will test whether the executive can continue to bypass Congress to raise revenue by proclamation. I trust the court will uphold the Constitution, but we should not have to wait for judges to restore what the Founders made clear 2½ centuries ago. Congress must reclaim its authority.When President Trump was elected, he promised a new Golden Age for American manufacturing. I applaud the goal of manufacturing closer to home. Many companies, including Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, have proved that the world’s best high-tech equipment can be invented, designed and built right here in the United States.Today, the goal of making more products in the USA is being undermined not by foreign adversaries but by a tax imposed on Americans by our own government. That tax comes in the form of executive-ordered tariffs imposed without a single vote in Congress: taxation without representation.When I founded SEL in 1982, nearly every electronic component we used was made in the United States. Over time, suppliers have chosen to move production offshore, leaving us with fewer and fewer domestic options. Although we prefer domestic supply for many reasons, we have no choice today but to import many components that are simply no longer made here.The White House tariff regime taxes those imported parts, punishing businesses like ours that have faithfully continued manufacturing here in the United States.The Constitution assigns the power to “lay and collect taxes, duties and imposts” to Congress, the branch most accountable to the people. Presidents may negotiate trade agreements and respond to emergencies, but they cannot unilaterally levy broad taxes on the American economy. Yet that is precisely what is happening with the Trump administration’s tariffs.Proposed tariffs could cost SEL more than $140 million a year, and the proposed 100% tariff on semiconductors would add another $50 million in new taxes. That burden equals roughly $20,000 per employee. This money would otherwise support more jobs, higher wages, profit-sharing with our workers, and new facilities. Even at the current tariff rates, we project paying $44 million over the next 12 months.Proponents argue that these tariffs will force production back to the United States. You cannot conjure a semiconductor foundry out of thin air. You cannot overnight duplicate supply chains that took decades to build. Tariffs don’t produce electronic components. Investment, free enterprise and hard work do. Tariffs are even a perverse incentive to manufacture offshore, where tariffs are not imposed. Making it easier to start a business, manufacture, mine and refine, build a house or factory, grow and process. These are the keys, and they don’t cost anyone a dime.What tariffs do produce are uncertainty and much higher costs for everyone. They also foster more special-interest politics of folks seeking exemptions, the antithesis of economic and political freedom.Manufacturers faced with sudden, unpredictable tax increases are forced to delay construction, scale back research and development, and raise prices. Tariffs may be one of the most regressive taxes imaginable. Milton Friedman stated that the only thing that tariffs protect us from is lower prices.We all want secure, reliable American supply chains. Over the next two years, we are investing nearly $90 million in new facilities in Idaho and North Carolina in our pursuit to make electric power safer, more reliable and more economical. Every cent of that comes from profits saved for growth. Not one cent comes from any subsidy or “incentive.”There is a better way than protectionist tariffs. Presidents of both parties, from Kennedy to Reagan, understood that open markets, economic freedom and predictable rules are what fuel a strong and confident nation. They knew that free enterprise, not government edict, is what drives prosperity.By reasserting its proper role, Congress can restore a durable, competitive trade policy that protects Americans from surprise tax increases imposed by executive decree, and the United States of America can once again become the beacon of light for economic and political freedom.American manufacturers are resilient. Our workers are among the most skilled anywhere. When government follows the Constitution and provides a fair playing field, we can invent and build things no one else can.Congress should end taxation without representation. Return tariff authority to where the Constitution placed it, and let American manufacturers keep doing what we do best: making this nation stronger, safer and more prosperous every single day.Edmund O. Schweitzer III is founder of Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, a 100% employee-owned U.S. manufacturer that invents, designs and builds digital products and systems to protect power systems worldwide.To read at The Washington Times, click here.Posted with permission of The Washington Times, LLC. Copyright © 2025.