When tariffs block the machines we need

In its article “Why robots are not the answer to US manufacturing reshoring hopes”, the Financial Times recently dismantled the idea that tariffs will magically bring manufacturing back to the United States or that robots will somehow fill the 500,000 job vacancies in American industry overnight.

The authors point out that integrating a collaborative robot (priced between $25,000 and $50,000) ends up costing up to $150,000 once you factor in sensors, safety fencing and commissioning. Barely 20% of mid-sized factories with 50 to 150 employees even have one. Two out of every five industrial robots in the United States are concentrated in the automotive sector, where highly repetitive tasks justify the investment. Outside of that, automation doesn’t pay for itself in a snap.

The fundamental problem is clear: the United States. doesn’t make its own robots. It depends almost entirely on Asia and Europe. Data from the International Federation of Robotics shows that Japan manufactures 46% of the world’s industrial robots, while China dominates new installations. Aside from a hopeful Tesla — whose launch timelines follow the famously elastic “Elon time” — the United States has no national robotics champion and relies on companies like ABB, Fanuc, or Kuka to automate its factories.