Trump urges foreign companies not to just invest in US but also train American workers

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Sunday (local time) has called on foreign companies not only to invest in the US but also to bring in expert personnel to help train American workers in manufacturing complex and high-tech products, in which the companies are involved.

In a statement posted on Truth Social, Trump emphasised the need for the US to relearn advanced manufacturing skills, especially in industries like semiconductors, shipbuilding, and high-tech machinery, by learning directly from foreign companies that are making large-scale investments in the country.

“When Foreign Companies who are building extremely complex products, machines, and various other “things,” come into the United States with massive Investments, I want them to bring their people of expertise for a period of time to teach and train our people how to make these very unique and complex products, as they phase out of our Country, and back into their land,” Trump said.

The US President argued that this type of knowledge transfer is essential to ensuring the long-term benefits of foreign investment and to restoring American industrial strength.

“If we didn’t do this, all of that massive Investment will never come in the first place — Chips, Semiconductors, Computers, Ships, Trains, and so many other products that we have to learn from others how to make, or, in many cases, relearn, because we used to be great at it, but not anymore,” he added.

Citing shipbuilding as a key example, Trump said the US had once built a ship a day but now “barely builds a ship a year.”

He argued that allowing expert workers from abroad to help rebuild American know-how temporarily would lead to long-term independence and even excellence.

“I don’t want to frighten off or disincentivize Investment into America by outside Countries or Companies. We welcome them, we welcome their employees, and we are willing to proudly say we will learn from them, and do even better than them at their own “game,” sometime into the not too distant future!” his post read.

The remark comes as the United States pushes to boost its domestic manufacturing sector and calls for manufacturers to invest in the US amid the global economic concerns due to the tariffs imposed by Washington on certain countries.

Earlier this month, Trump stated that certain companies are choosing to build their products in the US to avoid these tariffs and benefit from its protective policies, pointing towards the companies, especially car manufacturers, from China, Mexico, and Canada.

“Thousands of companies are coming into the US… Traditionally, car companies… They are coming from China, Mexico, Canada… They want to build here because, number one, they like to be here, and number two, the tariffs are protecting them. And number three, they want to avoid paying tariffs. When you build their cars here, you don’t have any tariffs,” he stated during a press conference at the White House. (ANI)