‘Japan, Korea, EU investing in energy as manufacturing in US isn’t profitable’: Tokyo professor Kazuto Suzuki

Tokyo professor Kazuto Suzuki claims that the 'Make America Great Again' initiative to bring manufacturing jobs back to the US is a flawed concept, stating that foreign nations know manufacturing in the US is not profitable. Suzuki, Director of the Institute of Geoeconomics and Professor at the University of Tokyo's Graduate School of Public Policy, made these remarks during an interview with The Indian Express at the Kautilya Economic Conclave, discussing the tariff war.

He attributes the tariff dispute to free trade policies rather than Chinese overcapacity and predicts a continuous conflict between economic efficiency and sovereignty. Suzuki argues that the US lacks the workforce and resources to successfully manufacture goods, prompting Japan, South Korea, and the EU to invest in the energy sector instead.

The US's MAGA policy to revitalize manufacturing has proven to be an illusion due to economic realities, and Suzuki suggests that the focus should now be on achieving a balance between economic efficiency and sovereignty.