G.M. Job Shift From Mexico Tests a Trump Premise

In the realm of international trade, it is a truism seemingly as consistent as gravity: Jobs and investment flow from north to south, while manufactured goods travel the other way around. Factories in the United States and Canada shutter as work shifts to Mexico and Central America, where human hands do it more cheaply.

So the established order of trade was by all appearances turned upside down on Tuesday, as General Motors agreed to cease manufacturing an automobile engine at a factory in Mexico while moving jobs to a plant in Canada.

One might reflexively assume that this turn effectively validates a central promise made repeatedly by Donald J. Trump, the Republican presidential aspirant. Loudly and frequently, Mr. Trump has vowed to yank jobs back to America from Mexico, using shame, executive fiat and his uniquely Trumpian form of threats to make it happen. Here was apparent proof that such a goal was doable. Read More…