Chris DiLapi (Big Twelve Conference Supporter)

Peter Navarro said something quite revealing on CNBC today about BMW's factory in South Carolina: "That doesn't work for America. It's bad for our economics, it's bad for our national security." This piqued my interest. I grew up very close to that BMW facility -- the company's largest in the world -- and I watched it transform my state and region with more than $13 billion invested in since 1992, 11,000 jobs onsite at an 8 million square foot campus, $10+ billion in exports in 2023 alone, etc. One study put the annual economic impact of the plant at $27 billion. In a small state, these are absolutely game-changing numbers. For all these reasons, BMW's investment has been hailed as a turning point in the state's economic history. Earlier this year, for example, Gov. Henry McMaster said this: "BMW's arrival in South Carolina over 30 years ago transformed our economy and global reputation." He's right. The investment was instrumental in helping the state transition from a textile-dependent economy for most of the 20th century to one with a vibrant advanced manufacturing industry today. In light of all this, how in the world does Navarro conclude that BMW's investment "doesn't work for America"? I mean, even trade restrictionists have long praised this kind of inbound foreign direct investment in U.S. auto manufacturing. Not Navarro. He's setting a new bar: whatever benefits BMW has delivered are more than canceled out by the fact that it sources parts from a global supply chain. And this is the vision behind the new tariff agenda.