How to Think About Manufacturing Recruiting in the Middle of a Trade War

Many believed the US-China trade war would fizzle out before hitting domestic industries hard.

Instead, retaliatory tariffs, including 145% tariffs on select Chinese imports, have hammered supply chains, canceled freight orders, and forced manufacturers to abandon shipments.

Capital investment has stalled, operating costs are climbing, and labor shortages are becoming harder to ignore. The manufacturing sector now faces a complex cost structure, rising price increases, and trade policy uncertainties.

This article breaks down how the full-blown trade war, additional tariffs, and supply chain disruptions are reshaping manufacturing recruiting in 2025, and how you can adapt and thrive even in uncertain conditions.

How Does the Current Trade War Impact Manufacturing Hiring?

The US-China trade war has created immediate and long-term challenges for companies trying to hire manufacturing talent. Tariff increases, retaliatory tariffs, and additional tariffs have shifted where and how manufacturers operate.

On top of that, operating costs have climbed sharply due to supply chain disruptions and the rising price of Chinese imports. As domestic production ramps up to offset the trade deficit, demand for skilled workers is outpacing supply.

Labor shortages across North America are now a critical threat to economic growth and domestic consumption. Without the right interview process, companies risk hiring the wrong candidates at a time when every hire impacts the cost structure and growth trajectory.

A weak process can slow down capital investment, further erode competitiveness, and worsen downside risks tied to ongoing trade policy uncertainties. The manufacturing industry now demands candidates who can adapt quickly to supply chain volatility, cost pressures, and new geopolitical tensions.

Training opportunities and the training process must also be assessed during interviews to make sure your prospective workers can evolve with changing technical needs.

In a period of growth slowdown, every hiring decision is tied directly to a company's ability to survive escalating aluminum tariffs, foreign country counter-tariffs, and shifting domestic industries.

10 Tips to Improve Your Manufacturing Hiring Efforts During the Ongoing Trade War

1. Prioritize Candidates With Supply Chain Literacy

Supply chain literacy is no longer optional in manufacturing hiring, especially when recruiting for sales roles.

Sales professionals must now understand how supply chain disruptions, retaliatory tariffs, and tariff increases impact product availability, pricing, and delivery timelines. Without this knowledge, they won’t be able to accurately communicate with clients or adjust their strategies during sudden shifts caused by trade policy uncertainties. The graphic below expands on this.

Things are changing fast. For example, 44% of companies are planning new nearshoring activities in the next 24 months to mitigate tariff risks.

This means manufacturing sales teams must be staffed with individuals who understand how supply chain volatility affects quoting lead times, capital investment decisions, and customer retention strategies. Candidates who can quickly pivot conversations around tariff-induced price increases or domestic production changes will have a major advantage in helping companies maintain growth despite broader economic slowdown trends.

In manufacturing today, supply chain fluency directly impacts revenue generation. Hiring managers need to screen candidates for their ability to discuss how percentage tariff shifts, Chinese imports, and foreign country supply chain re-alignments affect customer buying decisions.

Those who can translate complex supply chain risks into customer-centric solutions will close deals faster and protect margins against operating costs inflated by the ongoing full-blown trade war.

2. Screen for Cost-Conscious Mindsets

Manufacturing hires today need more than product knowledge, they must understand how operating costs, labor costs, and cost structure shifts impact pricing and negotiation.

For example, a sales candidate without cost awareness risks making promises the company cannot afford to deliver, especially when price increases from tariff policies are eating into already thin margins.

According to the National Association of Manufacturers, trade uncertainties were cited as a problem by 76.2% of respondents, a major jump from 2024.

Salespeople must now be able to frame conversations with customers around these realities and justify price changes tied to aluminum tariffs, additional tariffs, or labor cost fluctuations across North America.

Screening candidates for their understanding of how tariff increases, supply chain disruptions, and labor shortages influence final pricing is now a critical requirement for sustaining profitability.

Check out the image below for more information on how different costs impact final pricing:

In interviews, it's smart to ask candidates how they would explain a sudden 10% price hike caused by a new percent tariff or full-blown trade war escalation.

Those who demonstrate the ability to think about cost structure, and communicate those pressures clearly and persuasively, are the ones who will protect revenue streams against trade deficit pressures, training process lags, and broader downside risks.

3. Recruit People With Cross-Training Potential

The manufacturing industry is changing faster than ever, and sales teams need people who can pivot just as fast.

As retaliatory tariffs and trade policy uncertainties reshape domestic industries, companies are restructuring how they sell, produce, and deliver goods. U.S.-China goods trade reached $582.4 billion in 2024, with new 125% tariffs on Chinese imports now forcing rapid supply chain realignments.

Hiring candidates with strong cross-training potential means your sales force will be able to shift between product lines, adapt to new verticals, and handle sudden changes in domestic production without losing momentum.

The image below expands on these benefits:

For manufacturing sales roles, this means finding people who are comfortable switching from, say, selling automotive industry parts today to agricultural production equipment tomorrow.

Cross-trained sellers can maintain revenue even when a tariff increase, aluminum tariffs, or Chinese yuan fluctuations suddenly disrupt one of your key markets. Without this flexibility, companies risk seeing sales pipelines dry up when the next geopolitical tension or supply chain disruption hits.

4. Offer Specialized Training for Domestic Production Needs

Manufacturing companies that want to stay competitive need to build teams trained specifically for the new reality of domestic production.

As tariff increases and the negative impact of Chinese imports leads to reshoring, candidates need tailored training opportunities that match what’s happening inside U.S. plants, not foreign country suppliers.

According to the 2024 Kearney Reshoring Index, over 96% of CEOs said they were evaluating moving production closer to North America to reduce exposure to supply chain disruptions and counter-tariffs.

For manufacturing hiring, this means training candidates not just on product specs, but also on new sourcing strategies, domestic supply chain dynamics, and the realities of reshored operations.

In the graphic below, you can learn more about why these areas are important:

Without that foundation, even skilled staff will struggle to understand and explain cost structures impacted by aluminum industries reshoring or to manage client expectations shaped by the demand for electricity and new production timelines.

5. Factor in Geopolitical Awareness During Interviews

Hiring for manufacturing roles today requires more than assessing technical skills. Candidates must also show they understand how geopolitical tensions like the US-China trade war can disrupt supply chains, domestic production, and operating costs.

Without this awareness, new hires may struggle to adapt when full-blown trade war conditions, retaliatory tariffs, or supply chain disruptions shift production schedules and cost structures overnight.

The graphic here shows some of the ways geopolitical factors can influence manufacturing:

In a report by EY, 93% of industrial respondents said they had changed their investment strategies in response to geopolitical challenges.

When interviewing, manufacturers should ask candidates how they would respond to a tariff increase, a supply chain disruption in a foreign country, or a counter-tariff affecting raw materials like steel or aluminum.

Candidates who show a working understanding of how geopolitical forces create downside risks, and how those risks impact manufacturing jobs, domestic consumption, and capital investment, will be much better positioned to contribute during periods of volatility.

6. Target Talent from Strained Sectors

The ongoing US-China trade war and tariff increases have severely impacted sectors like agricultural production and the auto industry, leaving large pools of displaced workers.

Manufacturing companies can strengthen their hiring efforts by proactively recruiting from these sectors, where workers already possess relevant technical skills and an understanding of supply chain dynamics, cost structure pressures, and domestic production shifts.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. farm exports to China dropped significantly 2018 and 2020 due to retaliatory tariffs, creating massive labor dislocation across agricultural regions.

 Meanwhile, data from the Economic Policy Institute found that trade policy changes connected to Chinese imports cost the U.S. 3.7 million jobs between 2001 and 2021, with automotive manufacturing and related sectors among the hardest hit.

By targeting displaced workers from these strained sectors, manufacturers can quickly fill labor shortages without extensive retraining. 

These workers already understand the operational realities of industries battered by tariff policies, supply chain disruptions, and domestic consumption changes, making them ideal fits for today’s more volatile manufacturing environment.

Check out the image below to see why hiring from these hard-hit industries could be a good strategy.

7. Adjust Recruiting Metrics to Include Speed-to-Hire

In the manufacturing sector, slow hiring today means lost production tomorrow. With North America facing intensified labor shortages and rising domestic consumption, companies need to treat speed-to-hire as a primary recruiting metric instead of just an afterthought.

Delays in filling critical manufacturing jobs widen production gaps, increase operating costs (replacing skilled workers costs $10,000–$40,000 per employee), and expose companies to additional downside risks tied to trade policy uncertainties. 

For manufacturing hiring, this means streamlining application processes, cutting unnecessary interview steps, and pre-qualifying candidates before roles even open.

Fast, decisive hiring reduces the risk of production slowdowns tied to retaliatory tariffs, supply chain disruptions, or spikes in the demand for electricity, all of which keep operations resilient in an unstable trade environment.

In the image below you can see some of the key risks here and how fast, decisive hiring helps mitigate them.

8. Use Compensation Packages That Offset Uncertainties

Manufacturers navigating today's volatile market must rethink how they structure compensation. Rigid salary models do not reflect the operating cost swings, supply chain disruptions, or trade policy uncertainties driven by the ongoing US-China trade war.

In the following graphic you can see more about why rigid salary models are no longer enough in manufacturing:

With 65% of manufacturers citing attracting/retaining talent as their primary business challenge, flexible packages tied to company performance are critical for protecting margins in a labor market strained by 1.9 million projected unfilled manufacturing jobs by 2033.

Companies should offer flexible compensation packages tied to company performance, allowing them to protect margins while staying competitive.

In manufacturing hiring, offering compensation tied to production output, company profitability, or operational goals directly tied to domestic production helps attract candidates who are invested in navigating economic growth challenges. It also builds a workforce better aligned with surviving and thriving through tariff increases, counter-tariffs, and broader trade policy shocks.

9. Seek Candidates Comfortable With Capital Investment Shifts

Manufacturing companies today are operating in a tighter financial environment. Trade deficit concerns, additional tariffs, and the negative impact of retaliatory tariffs have caused a major pullback in capital investment and forced businesses to operate with leaner resources. 62.3% of manufacturers now see the cost of raw materials as a challenge.

This means manufacturing teams must hire candidates who are flexible, resourceful, and mentally prepared to work without assuming major new equipment upgrades, large facility expansions, or endless budget increases.

For manufacturing hiring, this means screening candidates who have experience optimizing under lean conditions, whether by improving supply chain efficiency, reducing waste, or adapting processes to maximize output with fewer resources. The image below expands on this.

In a trade war environment shaped by aluminum tariffs, supply chain disruptions, and geopolitical tensions, resilience under financial constraint is not just a bonus, it’s a core requirement.

10. Make Use of Data on Currency Volatility

Currency volatility plays a bigger role in manufacturing today than many realize. Shifts like the Chinese yuan devaluation impact the cost of Chinese imports, the competitiveness of domestic production, and even the financial feasibility of hiring workers from a foreign country.

Manufacturing hiring strategies must adjust by prioritizing candidates who understand how these currency changes impact supply chains, operating costs, and overall economic growth.

The Chinese yuan weakened by 5% against the U.S. dollar between 2023 and 2024, making Chinese imports cheaper but destabilizing pricing structures for U.S. manufacturers.

For manufacturing hiring, this means seeking candidates, especially in supply chain, finance, and procurement roles, who are comfortable analyzing currency risks and adjusting sourcing or pricing strategies accordingly.

Building teams with this awareness reduces downside risks tied to tariff policies, additional tariffs, and future full-blown trade war scenarios. In the graphic below, you’ll see some key ways that currency impacts manufacturing costs.

Common Challenges When Hiring for Manufacturing During a Trade War

Hiring for manufacturing roles during a full-blown trade war is uniquely difficult. 

Many companies fall into predictable traps that weaken their teams just when strong talent is needed most

Here are the most common mistakes and how to avoid them:

1. Ignoring Trade Policy Uncertainties in Hiring Plans

Many businesses hire based on “normal” market assumptions, ignoring how additional tariffs, supply chain disruptions, and retaliatory tariffs are reshaping the manufacturing environment.

Solution: Build flexible hiring plans that assume operating costs, labor costs, and supply chain structures could shift rapidly within the next 6–12 months.

2. Overemphasizing Technical Skills Without Assessing Adaptability

Companies often prioritize technical certifications but fail to screen for adaptability, which is critical when capital investment shifts or domestic production realigns.

Solution: Design interviews to test how candidates would respond to supply chain disruptions, tariff increases, and cost structure changes.

3. Moving Too Slowly to Secure Top Talent

Manufacturers with slow hiring processes lose out as North America faces growing labor shortages and domestic consumption demands.

Solution: Streamline your recruiting process to reduce time-to-hire by at least 30%. This helps you capture talent before competitors do.

4. Offering Inflexible Compensation Packages

Rigid salary structures are a mismatch for a trade war economy where operating costs and economic growth fluctuate constantly.

Solution: Introduce performance-linked bonuses and variable pay options that align compensation with company profitability during tariff policy shocks.

5. Failing to Leverage Talent from Strained Industries

Too many companies overlook displaced workers from sectors like agricultural production and the auto industry.

Solution: Target recruiting efforts toward these workers who already understand supply chains, counter-tariffs, and geopolitical tensions affecting the manufacturing industry.

The graphic below highlights some best practices here:

Hiring in Uncertain Times — What’s Next?

Manufacturing recruiting today demands a new playbook. Supply chain disruptions, retaliatory tariffs, and capital investment shifts are reshaping every hiring decision.

Old strategies built for stable markets no longer work under full-blown trade war conditions. Focus on speed, flexibility, cost-awareness, and geopolitical understanding if you want to stay competitive.

Start adjusting your hiring processes now, or risk falling behind as the next wave of trade policy shocks hits.