American manufacturing needs labor reform, not tariffs

For the first time since the Smoot-Hawley Act of 1930, tariffs are not just a tool of U.S. economic policy – they’re its most expansive and aggressively used tool. So far, markets have responded harshly to a costly gamble aimed at reviving American industrial might.

Even if trade barriers eventually succeed at bringing back some jobs, the gains won’t stick unless we reform antiquated labor policies. Otherwise, we risk rebuilding factories only to watch them shrink under the same outdated...