Remarks by Under Secretary William Kimmitt at Hudson Institute

June 18, 2026

Washington, DC

As Delivered

Thank you to the Hudson Institute for hosting me today. Hudson has long understood something that too many institutions in Washington forgot: economic strength, industrial capacity, and national security cannot be separated. For decades, Hudson has served as a catalyst for serious discussion and the development of important policy ideas at the intersection of those issues.

For too long, Washington behaved as though our economic strength and our national security could be separated. But the foundation of American strength was built on the recognition that the ability to produce is a source of national power. Alexander Hamilton understood at the founding of the Republic that political independence would never be secure without economic and industrial independence. A nation dependent on others for essential goods could not remain fully sovereign.

The United States followed that vision and became the greatest industrial power the world had ever known. That industrial might did more than create prosperity. It saved the free world. We won World War II not only because of the courage of American and allied soldiers, but because American workers could roll tanks, aircraft, ships, trucks, and weapons off assembly lines at a scale no enemy could match. American factories became the Arsenal of Democracy. Our productive capacity gave our servicemembers the tools to prevail and gave our country the strength to rebuild a shattered world.

But after the fall of the Soviet Union, Washington convinced itself that history was over. An imbalanced trading system created after World War II to rebuild our allies, strengthen the West, and prevail in the Cold War became the unquestioned status quo. We were told that trade policy could be placed on autopilot and ignored. That production could move overseas without weakening the country.

While the United States slept at the wheel, other countries-friends and foes alike-understood the enormous value of access to the American market. They subsidized. They dumped. They erected regulatory barriers. They supported state-owned enterprises. They used every tool available to build their industries and capture a greater share of the American market. At the same time, they used tariffs, regulations, and other barriers to shut American products out of their own markets.

And while they acted with purpose, our government too often stood by and watched as American factories closed, American production moved overseas, and American workers were overlooked and forgotten. Our leaders too often refused to recognize that reality, or even worse simply allowed it to happen. Our leaders offered increasingly unconditional access to the most valuable consumer market in the world while failing to insist on reciprocal access-and failing to insist that the American people remain the principal beneficiaries of the prosperity our nation had spent more than two centuries building.

We were told to accept the results. We were told that factories would continue to close, production would continue to leave, and American industrial decline was inevitable.

President Trump refused to accept that. He rejected the idea that our leaders were powerless to defend American workers, restore American production, and use the strength of our market to rebuild the country. He understood from the beginning that America's market is a source of tremendous economic leverage-and that this leverage should be used to advance the interests of the American people. He campaigned on bringing industry back, rebuilding the nation's productive capacity, and putting American workers and producers first. And that's exactly what his administration is doing.

Under President Trump and Secretary Lutnick, the Department of Commerce is restoring a basic principle of American economic policy: the United States must once again be a country that builds things and produces. We need factories. We need furnaces and smelters. We need machine tools, abundant energy, skilled workers, and companies prepared to invest for the long term. We need the capacity to manufacture the materials and technologies required for our economy, our infrastructure, and our national defense.

Government policy should reward the companies, workers, and investors willing to build here and create the conditions that allow them to succeed. That means making it easier to build and easier to invest. It means eliminating unnecessary regulations, accelerating permitting, unleashing affordable American energy, maintaining a competitive tax system, enforcing our trade laws, and giving companies confidence that the United States will stand behind those making long-term commitments to American production.

President Trump has focused on the sectors that are essential to the country's ability to build, produce, and defend itself. He has crafted a tariff strategy designed to incentivize investment and production in the United States-combined with regulatory reform, abundant energy, and an administration actively working to bring new factories and jobs to American communities.

President Reagan spoke of morning in America. But the opportunity of morning alone is not enough. You still have to wake up, get to work, and seize the day. President Trump recognized that-notwithstanding more than two centuries of unmatched industrial achievement-America still remained a sleeping giant when it came to the full potential of industrial and innovative manufacturing. We have the workers. We have the energy. We have the capital, the technology, the entrepreneurs, and the greatest market in the world. But for too long, we failed to use those advantages with purpose.

President Trump reawakened the sleeping giant. And under his leadership, America is capitalizing on the promise of this new day. The results are already evident. In February of this year, American goods exports to the world reached the highest monthly level ever recorded. Then we broke the record again in March. And then again in April-the most recent month available-we broke the record for a third consecutive month, reaching nearly $220 billion in goods exports in April alone. Three straight months. Three straight records. The United States is on pace to export $2.5 trillion in goods in 2026, which would shatter the previous record.

President Trump has already returned the United States to its position as an export powerhouse. And there is so much more to come. Look at the scale of investment now being committed to the United States. Automakers have announced nearly $40 billion in new American investment, along with commitments to substantially increase production at American plants over the next three years. Pharmaceutical companies have committed more than $600 billion to expand manufacturing, research, and production in the United States. Micron, TSMC, Texas Instruments, and GlobalFoundries alone represent more than $440 billion in announced semiconductor manufacturing and research investment. And we are seeing more than $20 billion in planned investment in steel and aluminum projects. These are not marginal changes around the edges of the economy. These are decisions to build entire industrial ecosystems in the United States.

President Trump's objective is not merely to preserve the capacity that remains. It's to expand that capacity dramatically. A historic $4 billion investment in Oklahoma will mark the first new U.S. primary aluminum smelter in 45 years. That project will double American aluminum production capacity. U.S. Steel is investing $14 billion in new American steel production. Hyundai Steel is building a $5.8 billion steel mill in Louisiana that will produce 2.7 million tons of steel each year. In 2025, the United States returned to the Top 3 steel producing countries for the first time in 26 years.

The historic investments in steel, aluminum, and autos are crucially important, but they're also only part of the story. Reindustrialization also means building the technologies and innovative industries that will define the next century. Last month, I attended Micron's celebration of the start of 1-alpha DRAM manufacturing at its facility in Manassas, Virginia-the most advanced memory technology ever produced in the United States. I have lived in Northern Virginia for almost my entire life. Until I began engaging with Micron in this job, I had no idea that an American company was operating a memory-chip fabrication plant in Manassas. I would venture that many people in this audience are similarly surprised that this critical technology is being manufactured less than an hour from where we are right now. And Micron isn't only modernizing that Virginia facility. It's investing $200 billion in American expansion that includes leading-edge memory fabs in Idaho and New York, advanced packaging, research and development, and a major expansion of domestic semiconductor production.

That's what reindustrialization means. It means restoring the traditional industries that built this country-steel, automobiles, heavy machinery, and their supporting supply chains-with major investment across Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. But it also means manufacturing semiconductors and memory chips in Idaho, Arizona, New York, Virginia, Texas, Utah, and Vermont. It means expanding pharmaceutical, biotechnology, diagnostics, and medical-technology production in Indiana, North Carolina, California, Delaware, Virginia, and Florida. And it means building the AI, cloud, data-center, and power infrastructure of the future in Wyoming, Ohio, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Mississippi. I could continue through every major sector and all 50 states. The point is that this industrial revival is not confined to the traditional manufacturing heartland. And it's not confined to a few coastal technology centers. It's reaching every region of the country.

We're also working to make American technology the foundation for growth around the world. At Commerce, we are proudly implementing President Trump's American AI Exports Program, building on his initiative to promote the American AI technology stack. We're bringing together industry-led consortia that can offer the full range of American AI capabilities: semiconductors, servers, data centers, cloud infrastructure, models, cybersecurity, software, and real-world applications. Approved consortia under this program will benefit from America's commercial, diplomatic, advocacy, and financing tools for major projects abroad. We want countries choosing American chips, American infrastructure, American software, American standards, and American expertise. That will combine the two great sources of American economic power: the industrial capacity to build and the innovative ability to lead.

At the Department of Commerce, we have a unique role in advancing this agenda from beginning to end. We attract investment into the United States. We help American companies export. We advocate for them as they compete for major contracts abroad. And we work every day to connect American businesses with opportunities around the world.

Through our SelectUSA office, we go out and compete for foreign investment rather than simply waiting for it to find us. And for companies that are producing here, we also help them win around the world with our U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service and Advocacy Center.

For too long, government advocacy was sometimes treated as a nice government service-a letter, a meeting, or a helpful introduction provided when an American company asked for assistance. Under President Trump and Secretary Lutnick, we are taking a fundamentally different approach. Commercial advocacy is not a courtesy. It's a strategic instrument of American economic policy. Since President Trump returned to office, the Advocacy Center has helped secure 171 signed contracts worth $309 billion. That's what happens when you have leadership focused on outcomes-and leadership that expects us to leverage every tool and resource available to support American workers, American industry, and American companies.

President Trump has restored leverage to American trade policy. Our trading partners now understand that access to the American market carries responsibilities. They must provide meaningful access for American products. They must address barriers that discriminate against American businesses. And they must understand that the United States will defend industries connected to our economic and national security.

Secretary Lutnick has been central to the President's historic trade and investment agreements around the world. Just this week, the European Parliament took its final vote on legislation implementing the President's agreement with Europe and eliminating tariffs on U.S. industrial goods. That means historic, unprecedented access to a $20 trillion market. I want to take a moment to explain what that means through just one example. When President Trump returned to office, the United States imposed a 2.5 percent tariff on passenger cars imported from Europe.

Europe imposed a 10 percent tariff on American cars. Not surprisingly, the trade relationship reflected that tariff imbalance. In 2024, Europe exported more than four times as many new cars to the United States as the United States exported to Europe. President Trump's historic agreement flips that tariff imbalance entirely. European automobiles entering the United States are now subject to a 15 percent tariff. Meanwhile, Europe has voted to reduce its tariff on American industrial goods-including American automobiles-to zero. That is what leverage looks like.

President Trump understands that the American market is the most powerful economic asset in the world. He understands that access to it should not be given away unconditionally. It should be used to open foreign markets, expand American exports, encourage production in the United States, and deliver results for American workers. This is what happens when you have a President who recognizes the fundamental imbalances that were allowed to persist for decades and understands how to use the enormous leverage of the American market to secure better outcomes for American workers and producers.

President Trump has restored the understanding that government should not remain a passive observer while industries leave, competitors close their markets, and American communities bear the cost. We will use access to our market as leverage. We will reward companies that build in America and create the conditions that make that investment possible. We will bring capital, industrial capacity, and jobs to the United States. We will stand behind American businesses when they compete around the world. And we will recognize that the American worker is not an obstacle to economic efficiency. The American worker is the foundation of American strength.

We are working to make the United States once again the greatest place in the world to invest, manufacture, innovate, export, and build. That's how we advance American interests. That's how we restore American industrial power. And that's how we build an economy worthy of the nation that created it and the 250 years of achievement behind it.

Thank you.

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