GE Appliances just dropped a half-billion-dollar bomb on Louisville, proving that President Donald Trump’s trade policies pack a punch. The China-owned subsidiary announced a $490 million investment Thursday to build a cutting-edge plant for washers and dryers, bringing 800 jobs back to Kentucky, as The Blaze reports. This isn’t just a win for workers -- it’s a middle finger to globalist outsourcing.
The move transforms Louisville’s Appliance Park into a global hub for appliance manufacturing, reshoring production from overseas. GE Appliances, under Haier Group, plans to churn out clothes washers and dryers in a facility spanning 33 football fields. It’s a bold bet on American labor, fueled by federal policies that reward domestic investment.
Kentucky’s Economic Development Finance Authority sweetened the deal with funds to modernize GE’s building. Performance-based incentives and workforce training grants from the Kentucky Skills Network also paved the way. These are the kinds of smart, state-level moves that amplify federal trade wins.
=Trump’s trade strategy, including a 10% tariff on most imports and a 30% levy on Chinese goods, lit a fire under corporate America. GE Appliances CEO Kevin Nolan admitted, “Trump’s trade policy makes the payback for these things much, much greater.” That’s right -- tariffs are forcing companies to rethink their love affair with cheap foreign labor.
Nolan doubled down, saying tariffs “make incentives better” for reshoring. Yet, he hedged, claiming the decision aligns with GE’s long-term “zero-distance” strategy to produce closer to customers. Nice try, but the tariff carrot-and-stick approach clearly tipped the scales.
“This decision is our most recent product reshoring and aligns with the current economic and policy environment,” Nolan said. Translation: Trump’s policies created an environment where bringing jobs home makes dollars and sense. The numbers don’t lie—$490 million and 800 jobs are a direct result of economic nationalism.
Kentucky’s Democrat Gov. Andy Beshear joined Nolan at a Thursday press conference to celebrate the investment. But Beshear, ever the politician, sidestepped giving Trump any credit, directing tariff questions to the press conference video. Typical lefty move -- basking in the glow of jobs while ignoring the policy that made it happen.
Louisville Courier Journal’s Joseph Gerth went further, whining, “This investment and these jobs are not because of him.” Oh, please. Gerth’s denialism ignores Nolan’s own words about tariffs juicing the deal’s benefits.
Gerth called Trump’s tariffs a “chaotic scheme,” but chaos looks pretty good when it’s creating 800 full-time jobs. The columnist’s sour grapes can’t erase the reality: Trump’s trade war is winning battles for American workers. Sorry, Joseph, facts trump feelings.
Nolan insisted, “You can’t make a decision like this in a short-term-look environment.” Fair point -- GE is planning for the long haul. But let’s not kid ourselves; without Trump’s tariffs, this investment might still be a PowerPoint slide in Shanghai.
“A company that doesn’t have this long-term strategy right now is going to struggle to make decisions like this,” Nolan added. True, but tariffs are the spark that turned strategy into action. Companies ignoring this wake-up call will be left in the dust.
White House spokesman Kush Desai nailed it: “Every day President Trump’s tariffs are reshoring manufacturing, creating jobs, generating government revenue.” Desai’s not wrong -- tariffs are rewriting the economic playbook. The so-called “experts” crying about trade wars look dumber by the day.
Beshear’s reluctance to credit Trump reeks of partisan pettiness. He’s happy to cut ribbons but won’t admit the tariffs gave GE the nudge. Voters see through this -- Kentuckians want jobs, not political point-scoring.
The scale of this project -- 33 football fields of production -- shows GE’s commitment to American manufacturing. It’s a testament to policies that prioritize Main Street over Beijing boardrooms. Progressive naysayers can clutch their pearls, but results speak louder than rhetoric.
Trump’s demand for onshoring is paying off, and GE Appliances is proof. While Beshear and Gerth play dodgeball with the truth, 800 Kentucky families will soon have paychecks thanks to a policy they can’t stomach. That’s the kind of leadership that cuts through the woke noise and delivers.
