美国国家公共电台 NPR Trump's 'America First' Agenda Marks Sharp Break In U.S. Economic Policy

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Tonight's speech gives the president a chance to clarify what he means by America first. Throughout his campaign, he contended the United States was getting the shaft 1.

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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP 2: Erasing 3 national borders does not make people safer or more prosperous. It undermines democracy and trades away prosperity. We're giving it away.

INSKEEP: Less clear is what economic program the president intends to pursue now. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE 4: Economic nationalism plays well with many of the president's most ardent 5 supporters. People like James Evert, who attended a Trump rally in Florida earlier this month.

JAMES EVERT: A lot of people here are pro-America and looking to just support a president that finally says, I'm for you, the working man. His number one concern is Americans, not for all the other people around the world.

HORSLEY: That narrow focus on American workers showed up on one of Trump's first days in office. As the president recalled for a group of conservative activists 6 last week, he and his aides were discussing plans to restart two stalled pipelines 8.

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TRUMP: I said, who makes the pipes for the pipeline 7? Well, Sir, it comes from all over the world, isn't that wonderful? I said nope. It comes from the United States or we're not building it.

HORSLEY: Trump directed his commerce secretary to come up with a plan to ensure domestic pipelines use American materials. But the order includes considerable wiggle room, and it may run afoul of international trade rules. Nevertheless, some people welcome the president's push.

SCOTT PAUL: I thought it's about time.

HORSLEY: Scott Paul heads the Alliance for American Manufacturing, a partnership 9 between the Steelworkers Union and domestic steel companies. Thousands of steel jobs have been lost in recent years. And Paul says those idle workers would be happy to go back to work making pipe. First, though, their employers will have to be convinced. Trump's agenda has staying power.

PAUL: It's kind of the chicken and egg thing. U.S. steel makers 10 aren't going to open up lines to make massive amount of pipes if they don't think pipes are going to be in demand. But once they know there's going to be a market, this is a product that the steel industry is going to be eager to deliver.

HORSLEY: Likewise, Trump's been pressing automakers to locate more plants in the U.S. But car-making is increasingly a global business. Many American automakers rely heavily on imported parts, while many foreign companies employ workers here in the U.S. Kelsey Mays is senior editor of the website cars.com, which compiles an annual index of the most American car models.

KELSEY MAYS: The number one American-made car was the Toyota Camry. And that may surprise some people because Toyota obviously isn't based here in the United States. But the Camry has 75 percent domestic content. It's built in Georgetown, Ky. and Lafayette, Ind., and it employs a number of people building it.

HORSLEY: The biggest disconnect between Trump's narrow brand of nationalism and the reality of global supply chains showed up when the president visited a Boeing plant earlier this month to celebrate the rollout of a new 787 Dreamliner.

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TRUMP: This plane, as you know, was built right here in the great state of South Carolina. Our goal as a nation must be to rely less on imports and more on products made here in the USA.

HORSLEY: While Boeing is an American company, the Dreamliner is a melting pot. Its fuselage comes from Italy. The wings are from Japan. Passenger doors are built in France. What's more, aviation consultant 11 Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group says 85 percent of the planes are sold overseas.

RICHARD ABOULAFIA: You've got a plane that's heavily sourced from abroad and overwhelmingly goes to international customers. This is a poster child for globalization.

HORSLEY: Big exporters like Boeing would have a big target on their back if Trump's protectionist policies end up starting a trade war. With its 6,400-mile range, the Dreamliner is built to carry people quickly and easily across oceans and between continents, a flight path that could be bumpy 12 with a new nationalistic president at the controls. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.