Trump dreams of domestic production – but it could make a t-shirt cost $150

CEO of Danish shipping and logistics company, Maersk, warns Trump that prices would soar, if all products sold in the U.S. were to be produced domestically.

$100-150 for a t-shirt?

Would you pay $100 for a t-shirt? How about $150? It sounds like a nightmare, but it can become reality, if Presiden Donald Trump keeps waging his global trade war.

Doesn’t believe in Trumps dream

CEO of Danish shipping and logistics company, Maersk, Vincent Clerc told reporters that Donald Trumps dream of producing more goods domestically will be difficult to fullfill – simply because prices would soar.

Apple tried it

The CEO said: “A t-shirt produced in the U.S. would cost $100-$150. Apple has been trying to produce more outside of China, but it’s proven hard to accomplish.”

Deporting hundreds of thousands of workers

The unemployment rate in the U.S. is af 4.2 %, which is historically low. However, with the ongoing deportation of migrants, the U.S. is effectively reducing the domestic workforce by hundreds of thousands of people. “So where would the workers come from?” Clerc asks.

Uncertainty is the worst

Maersk increased it’s revenue in Q1 of 2025, and the CEO says that the tariffs aren’t the biggest problem – the uncertainty is. Actually, Maersk has seen costumers completely halting investments due to the uncertain situation.

Risk of recession

Even though Maersk increased it’s revenue in Q1, the CEO is not feeling safe when looking at the rest of the year. Right now, things are fine, but if things get worse with more tariffs and more hurdles for the global trade, it could risk sending the U.S. into recession.

What happens after the suspension?

Shortly after Trumps sweeping tariffs went into effect, a 90-day suspension was announced (except for the 145 % tariff on Chinese goods). No one knows what will happen when the 90-day suspension reaches its end in two months.