The last five years has seen the comeback of economic nationalism. Much of this has been rhetorical, with President Trump shouting the loudest. “Bring back our jobs,” he proclaimed in his inaugural presidential speech. “One by one, the factories shuttered and left our shores, with not even a thought about the millions upon millions of American workers left behind.”
In the 2016 US elections, these sentiments won Trump the support of “left behind” workers, snatching him victory across the key Rust Belt states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania – America’s former industrial heartland. Four years later, president-elect Joe Biden managed to win them back, not least by taking a leaf out of Trump’s book.
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