Trump wants foreign workers to 'teach and train's Americans before 'they phase out of our country'

US President Donald Trump on Sunday (Sept 15) urged foreign companies investing in the United States to bring expert personnel to train American workers in producing complex and high-tech products.

Relearning advanced manufacturing skills
In a Truth Social post, Trump stressed the importance of the US relearning advanced manufacturing skills in areas such as semiconductors, shipbuilding, and high-tech machinery by working alongside foreign companies making major investments in the country.

Knowledge transfer crucial for industrial strength: Trump

“When Foreign Companies who are building extremely complex products, machines, and various other ’things,’ come into the United States with massive Investments, I want them to bring their people of expertise for a period of time to teach and train our people how to make these very unique and complex products, as they phase out of our Country, and back into their land,” Trump said.

He said that this transfer of knowledge is vital to secure long-term benefits from foreign investment and to restore American industrial strength.

“If we didn’t do this, all of that massive Investment will never come in the first place — Chips, Semiconductors, Computers, Ships, Trains, and so many other products that we have to learn from others how to make, or, in many cases, relearn, because we used to be great at it, but not anymore,” Trump said.

Citing shipbuilding as an example, he noted that the US once built a ship a day but now “barely builds a ship a year.” Allowing foreign experts to temporarily train American workers, he argued, would help rebuild domestic know-how and ensure long-term independence.

Welcoming investment without discouragement
“I don’t want to frighten off or disincentivize Investment into America by outside Countries or Companies. We welcome them, we welcome their employees, and we are willing to proudly say we will learn from them, and do even better than them at their own ‘game,’ sometime into the not too distant future!” Trump wrote.

Boosting domestic manufacturing amid global concerns
The remarks come as the US seeks to boost domestic manufacturing and attract foreign investment amid global economic concerns and ongoing tariff policies.

Tariffs influencing investment decisions
Earlier this month, Trump highlighted that some companies are choosing to build products in the US to avoid tariffs and benefit from protective measures, particularly automakers from China, Mexico, and Canada.

“Thousands of companies are coming into the US… Traditionally, car companies… They are coming from China, Mexico, Canada… They want to build here because, number one, they like to be here, and number two, the tariffs are protecting them. And number three, they want to avoid paying tariffs. When you build their cars here, you don’t have any tariffs,” he said during a White House press conference.