Some common refrains in discussions about American manufacturing are “we don’t make that here,” or “we can’t compete on price.” Take the bicycle for example, a product likely found in nearly every American household. The conventional narrative today suggests that almost all bicycles-–particularly frames and intricate components—are produced overseas because American consumers primarily shop based on price. But lately you may find everyone talking about how that narrative is changing—because American manufacturing is making a comeback.
Guardian Bikes, an American company out of Seymour, Indiana that sells direct-to-consumer, wants to ensure that it keeps manufacturing 100% of its bicycles right here in the U.S., and to do so, has received a $19 million loan from J.P. Morgan to help them. This loan will go towards building America’s first large-scale bicycle frame manufacturing operation within our own shores in at least thirty years. Guardian Bikes serves as a testament that changes in Washington trade policies over the years do have an impact on a company’s decision to invest in manufacturing—even in sectors long dominated by Asian imports. Moving forward, protective tariffs from Washington levied against China might help them, and additionally Taiwan has also recently seen its tariffs rise, presently at 10%.
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