October, 05 2020, 12:00am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Derrick Robinson (202) 909-6355, Rdrobinson@citizen.org
Matthew Groch (202) 454-5111, mgroch@citizen.org
During Trump Presidency, 200,000 Jobs Offshored and Corporations Involved Awarded $425 Billion in Federal Contracts
Public Citizen releases new report "promises made, workers betrayed: Trump’s bigly broken promise to stop job offshoring."
WASHINGTON
President Donald Trump has awarded more than $425 billion in federal contracts to corporations listed among those responsible for offshoring 200,000 American jobs during his presidency, according to a new report released today by Public Citizen.
In 2016, Trump promised voters in key industrial swing states that he would end job offshoring. He said he would deny firms that offshored from U.S. government contracts so that they would bring jobs back to America in order to keep billions in lucrative government business. Yet eight out of the top 10 firms receiving government contracts during the Trump presidency have been government-certified as having offshored jobs, the report reveals.
Public Citizen's report, which analyzes U.S. Labor Department (DoL) trade-related job loss and USASpending procurement data includes tables of firms, contract amounts and jobs offshored.
Key report findings include:
- To date, 311,427 American workers have been government-certified as losing jobs to trade during Trump's presidency, with 202,543 jobs explicitly certified as offshored.
- Under Trump, one-in-four taxpayer dollars spent on federal procurement contracts - at least $425.6 billion - went to firms offshoring jobs during his presidency.
- Half of the top 10 recipients of Trump-era contracts were certified by the U.S. government as having offshored jobs during the Trump administration.
- Trump is currently pledging to ban federal contracts to firms that offshore to China, but to date has awarded $113.9 billion to firms that did just that. Top-100 federal contract recipients, Boeing, General Electric, Dell, Honeywell and Merck collectively offshored 6,038 jobs to China during the Trump administration and were awarded $113.9 billion in government contracts starting in FY 2017.
- United Technologies (UT) was a top recipient of Trump government contracts, receiving $15.1 billion dollars from FY 2017 to FY 2019 even as it offshored at least 1,300 of the Carrier jobs that president-elect Trump pledged to save. Jobs of 600 workers at Carrier's Indianapolis plant and all 700 at Carrier's Huntington, Indiana plant were offshored to Mexico in 2017. Under Trump the DoL certified UT as offshoring a total of 1,572 jobs and previously certified 11,459 jobs offshored among the 16,981 jobs that the DoL shows that UT eliminated due to trade.
- Of the top 50 federal contractors, by dollars awarded in FYs 2017, 2018 and 2019, 28% were government-certified as having engaged in offshoring during the Trump administration, and of the top 100, 25% had offshored American jobs during his term. Many of the top 100 firms to which the Trump administration awarded government contracts offshored jobs during his administration and were notorious chronic job offshorers certified for tens of thousands of job losses.
- Boeing, General Electric and UT were among the largest recipients of government contracts during the Trump era even as they all offshored jobs. During the Trump administration, Boeing offshored 5,800 jobs; General Electric offshored 2,046; and United Technologies offshored 1,572 jobs - including many from its Carrier division, the firm whose workers Trump promised to save.
- The Trump administration awarded on average 2.5 times the amount, or $10 billion more, in contracts to firms that offshored during his term than to those that did not.
The report was released at a press conference (recording available here). Participating members of Congress discussed the report's findings:
Rep. Raul M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources said:
"Trump lied to America's workers when he told them jobs were staying in the United States. Under his watch jobs have left while he continues rewarding outsourcing corporations with millions of dollars in lucrative government contracts - in the middle of a pandemic. This latest report by Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch confirms the gaping hole between Trump's campaign promises and his failed leadership. Hard-working Americans who have dedicated decades to these companies are now forced to fend for themselves in an unstable job market that continues reeling from the impacts of COVID-19. Working families deserve better."
Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) said: "After promising Michiganders the moon, there's been a net loss of over 50,000 manufacturing jobs under Trump. And he's currently the first president in generations to oversee a net job loss. This report shows what workers in my state already know: the Trump administration awarded at least $425 billion in government contracts to corporations that offshored U.S. jobs. He may have promised workers to end job offshoring. But his actions show, he was really just paying billions to corporations who took away American jobs. Bringing the supply chain back to America strengthens domestic manufacturing and improves national security."
Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) said: "I first ran for Congress to put an end to the destructive trade deals that were shipping jobs overseas. In 2016, Trump struck a chord with voters in my district, and across the country, by promising to bring those jobs back - but he has done just the opposite. Since elected, President Trump has given tax incentives and awarded hundreds of billions of dollars in federal contracts to corporations that send jobs overseas. Enough is enough. It is past time to level the playing field and cut American workers in on the deal."
Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) said: "Time and time again, Donald Trump has proven that he will always put his corporate friends' profits over the lives of American workers. An administration that has promised to bring jobs back to our country - including Wisconsin - has given some of the largest government contract handouts to companies known for offshoring jobs. The people of Wisconsin are fed up with the endless broken promises from Donald Trump and job losses that have only gotten worse because of his failure to respond to this pandemic. Donald Trump has failed American workers."
Rep. Brendon Boyle (D-Pa.) said: "As a candidate in 2016, President Trump said he'd stop job offshoring and quickly. As President, his administration has overseen 200,000+ jobs offshored. Working families know this economy is stacked against them as American workers face stagnant wages, benefit reductions and unfair foreign competition. Many of the top 100 firms to whom the Trump administration awarded government contracts, are notorious & chronic job offshorers. President Trump simply failed in holding up his end of the bargain when he allowed these jobs to land in foreign countries."
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass. ) also commented on the report: "This report is more evidence that Donald Trump is the King of Offshoring. For his entire term in office, Trump has awarded billions in new government contracts to firms notorious for serial American job outsourcing, showered giant multinational corporations with tax giveaways, shrugged his shoulders while people get laid off and jobs are shipped overseas - and he keeps lying through his teeth about it all. We need a President and a Congress that will defend our workers and create jobs here at home."
Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch said: "This is straight up promises made, workers betrayed. Trump won in 2016 by pledging to voters in key industrial swing states that he would end job offshoring but 200,000 more American jobs have been offshored during his presidency. Trump said he would bar firms that offshored from getting U.S. government contracts so that they'd bring jobs back to America in order to keep that lucrative government business but eight out of the top 10 firms receiving government contracts during the Trump presidency have been government-certified as having offshored jobs with at least one of every four taxpayer dollars spent on federal procurement contracts - at least $425.6 billion - going to firms offshoring jobs during his presidency."
Public Citizen is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization that champions the public interest in the halls of power. We defend democracy, resist corporate power and work to ensure that government works for the people - not for big corporations. Founded in 1971, we now have 500,000 members and supporters throughout the country.
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In First 100 Days, Trump Waged 'Relentless Assault on Working People'
"We are either patriots fighting the regime, or we are complicit in its tyranny," wrote former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich. "There is no middle ground."
Apr 29, 2025
Tuesday is the 100th day of U.S. President Donald Trump's second term, which so far has featured plummeting public opinion poll numbers and mobilizations against his billionaire inner circle's mounting attacks on working people.
"Since Franklin D. Roosevelt's earthshaking first 100 days in office, no president has matched the sheer drama and disruption of that 15-week sprint in 1933, which rewrote the relationship between Americans and their government. At least until now," Naftali Bendavid wrote Monday for The Washington Post.
"Roosevelt's onslaught, in the depths of the Great Depression, was aimed at expanding the federal government's presence in Americans' lives. Trump's crusade is aimed largely at dismantling it," Bendavid added, noting that while FDR's agenda was enacted by Congress, the current president "has governed largely by unilateral executive action."
Ahead of nationwide protests planned for later this week, many Trump critics marked the 100-day milestone by chronicling how the president's policies are making life harder for the working class, from cutting federal employees and funding to pursuing mass deportations and economically devastating tariffs.
"The cruelty is unnerving, the disregard for the Constitution and rule of law is reckless, and the day-to-day pain can never be justified."
"It is a fallacy to argue that we must choose between fighting for a fair economy and protecting our democracy," the watchdog Accountable.US said in a Monday memo. "Trump's first 100 days, which will be marked this week, clearly show that the two are interconnected, and he's failed Americans on both."
"What we have seen over the past 100 days is a president who has flouted the law, gutted checks and balances, and consolidated power for himself," the memo continues. "He has also, with the help of Elon Musk and allies in Congress, done catastrophic damage to our economy, injecting chaos and uncertainty for small businesses and investors, undermining workers' rights, tanking consumer confidence, and increasing the likelihood of a recession."
The Conference Board said Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index dropped 7.9 points this month to 86—meaning "consumer confidence declined for a fifth consecutive month in April, falling to levels not seen since the onset of the Covid pandemic," according to Stephanie Guichard, a senior economist at the think tank.
Calling those numbers "sobering" and a "signal that we are plunging headfirst into a recession," Groundwork Collaborative executive director Lindsay Owens warned that "if this is the level of pain the president is willing to inflict on Americans in just a few short months, it's no wonder that consumers and businesses are bracing themselves for a long, dark road ahead."
"This is a man-made crisis," Owens declared. "In his first 100 days, Trump did all he could to engineer a recession."
Donald Trump promised to end inflation and lower costs on his first day in office. Instead, Americans are paying a higher price on groceries, cars, utilities, and housing — with the looming fear of a recession. He's crashing our economy and leaving you with the bill.
— Governor JB Pritzker (@govpritzker.illinois.gov) April 29, 2025 at 2:31 PM
The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) last week compiled a list of "100 ways Trump has hurt workers in his first 100 days," which includes terminating grants to fight forced and child labor, nominating Crystal Casey to be general counsel at the National Labor Relations Board, and leaving the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service with what one employee recently toldCommon Dreams is "a very skeletal crew."
In addition to detailing Trump administration actions to degrade wages and working conditions, the think tank's report lays out Trump's attacks on anti-discrimination protections, immigrant workers, public education, and more.
"During the campaign, Trump promised to put working people first, lower rising costs on groceries and gas, and preserve our earned benefits and healthcare," American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) president Lee Saunders noted Monday. "Instead, the first 100 days of this billionaire-run administration have been fueled by lies, broken promises, and a relentless assault on working people and unions."
"He has handed over the reins of government to billionaires—appointing the wealthiest Cabinet in American history, kicking off a trade war that is raising prices on everyday goods, attacking Social Security and Medicaid, cutting wages for workers, and stripping collective bargaining rights from more than 1 million federal employees," the union leader said. "The White House claimed it had nothing to do with Project 2025, yet it has already implemented over one-third of the anti-worker agenda, often sidestepping Congress and the courts to do so."
Saunders stressed that "the fallout has been immediate. Retirees are left wondering how to navigate Social Security as staff are laid off, offices are closed, and services are cut. People are watching their retirement savings shrink. Lifesaving health and safety regulations have been put on hold. Students with disabilities are losing vital support from the Department of Education. The Department of Health and Human Services is clawing back funding from states, cities, and towns to fight infectious diseases as measles is on the rise, and it's just the beginning."
AFSCME and the American Federation of Teachers are challenging some of Trump's moves in court. AFT president Randi Weingarten on Tuesday condemned a similar list of Trump actions, including cuts to "research grants to colleges and universities that fund cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer's research," and said that "it's no wonder his public approval is tanking."
"The cruelty is unnerving, the disregard for the Constitution and rule of law is reckless, and the day-to-day pain can never be justified," Weingarten added. "That's why our members are fighting back."
Some of the actions highlighted by union leaders are also included in First Focus on Children's Monday timeline for what the advocacy group called the Trump administration's "systematic war on the nation's children."
"I'm not sure we've ever seen an administration so laser-focused on targeting the nation's children for harm," said the group's president, Bruce Lesley. He called out Trump, his appointees, and the GOP-controlled Congress for planning to cut children's healthcare by $880 billion, shutter the Education Department, and "steal the lunch money of the nation's poorest kids."
"Babies have been singled out for special punishment with the proposed revocation of birthright citizenship and deportation of U.S. citizen children. This administration is also promoting tax policies that penalize families for having newborns," Lesley continued, also pointing to the "decimation" of the United States Agency for International Development. "The president has left children overseas to die of AIDS, malaria, and starvation by the millions."
“'100 Days of Destruction': Top Historian on Trump's Presidency So Far” Writing for Zeteo, Princeton's @zelizer.bsky.social explains how past US presidents used their first 100 days to build, while Trump has used his to dismantle, intimidate, and destroy. Read/share/subscribe:
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— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan.bsky.social) April 29, 2025 at 7:53 AM
Trying to end birthright citizenship is one of several ways Trump is attacking immigrants. The advocacy group America's Voice this week published a fact sheet titled, High Costs, No Benefits: 100 Days Of Trump's Immigration Agenda.
"Let this sink in: Our government is deporting American kids, including kids with cancer, and is now trying to defend and excuse their choices on national television," said the organization's executive director, Vanessa Cárdenas. "Their actions embody the cruelty, chaotic, and harmful nature of their agenda the past 100 days, and what they want from the next 100 weeks and beyond."
"As Americans see the cruelty and overreach in action," Cárdenas noted, "a growing majority is expressing disapproval, connecting it to broader concerns regarding the rule of law, the tanking economy, cuts to Americans' healthcare, and overall chaos and extremism."
The Trump administration's anti-immigrant agenda is featured in several of the items on a new Human Rights Watch (HRW) list of actions "that pose significant risks to the human rights of people living in the United States and around the world."
Tanya Greene, U.S. program director at HRW, said that the administration has already "inflicted enormous damage to human rights" and "we are deeply concerned that these attacks on fundamental freedoms will continue unabated."
Item 51 on HRW's list warns that "people in the United States risk seeing their democratic power weakened by a politically motivated effort to skew long-standing U.S. Census Bureau policies and methods aimed at ensuring accurate population counts that determine how presidents, members of Congress, and others are elected and how federal funding is allocated to states and localities."
All Voting Is Local executive director Hannah Fried said in a Tuesday statement that "these first 100 days have been a five-alarm fire for the freedom to vote," citing Trump's executive order on elections, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, "and copycat bills in Ohio and Michigan that would require voters to show a passport or birth certificate to vote."
"The voting rights assaults during this time specifically hurt Black, Brown, Native American, and other historically marginalized communities," she emphasized. "They also set a tone for further efforts to erode voting rights and consolidate power at all levels of government in the lead-up to next year's midterm elections."
A growing number of public figures and watchdogs are sounding the alarm about the consolidation of power under Trump. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has been crisscrossing the country for his Fighting Oligarchy Tour, and the advocacy group Public Citizen this week put out a list of highlights from the president's first "100 days of oligarchy and conflicts of interest."
Public Citizen's resource outlines how Trump "is handing people with clear corporate conflicts of interest—like stakes in Big Oil companies, long corporate lobbying careers, and seats on major company boards—the power to regulate and oversee corporations," dismantling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and ridding the government of inspectors general, among other actions that enrich him and his allies at the expense of the public.
"People aren't fooled. They see what's going on. It's why millions took the streets on April 5th to protest Trump and Musk's attacks on working families."
The organization Issue One also has a new report—Unchecked Exec—about how "Trump's first 100 days have been focused on consolidating power and sidestepping anti-corruption safeguards."
"The Founders were deeply concerned about concentrating too much power in the presidency," said Issue One CEO Nick Penniman. "The Founders fought a revolution to get rid of concentrated executive authority, and they placed 'We, the People'—and Congress—at the center of the Constitution."
"A hundred days into this administration, it's clear the White House is intent on pushing the limits of its power to the point where it risks violating the Constitution and eroding the freedoms of every American," Penniman added. "This is a time for total vigilance, before the America we were living in 101 days ago begins to disappear."
The public is already fighting back in the form of protest. Maurice Mitchell, national director of the Working Families Party, said Tuesday that "calling Trump's first 100 days a dumpster fire would be an insult to dumpster fires."
"In less than four months, Trump has destroyed jobs, brought the economy to the brink of ruin, and done absolutely nothing to lower costs," he continued. "People aren't fooled. They see what's going on. It's why millions took the streets on April 5th to protest Trump and Musk's attacks on working families. It's why more and more people are joining community organizations or stepping up to run for office."
"Trump and his billionaire friends want us to fight against each other, so they can take an even larger share of the pie," he added. "But we're not playing their game. Instead, we're going to bring working people together, from every background and geography, to stop Trump and his MAGA cronies in their tracks."
A national day of action is planned for Thursday, recognized globally as May Day. There are more than 1,100 rallies scheduled—including one at Philadelphia City Hall, where Sanders is set to join the city's AFL-CIO chapter under the banner, "For the Workers, Not the Billionaires."
While Sanders and those who have joined him on tour, such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), have been praised for their response to the second Trump administration, constituents across the United States are calling on many members of Congress to do more.
Although Republicans control both chambers of Congress, recent polling shows rising support for impeaching Trump a historic third time, and Congressman Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) on Monday filed seven articles of impeachment against the president. Thursday will feature some actions focused on pressuring lawmakers to pursue impeachment.
Given Congress' current makeup, Christina Harvey, executive director of the progressive advocacy group Stand Up America, is specifically calling on Republican lawmakers who "aided and abetted" Trump to instead fight back against his "relentless assault on our democracy, our freedoms, and the basic services hardworking Americans depend on to survive."
"What more will it take for Republicans in Congress to find the courage to stand up for their constituents?" she asked Tuesday. "The president is not a king, and Congress is meant to be a co-equal branch of government. We can't afford to wait another 100 days for them to finally remember that."
Over the first 100 days, we @sddfund.bsky.social have taken 100 actions challenging the Trump admin’s lawlessness—incl. repping conservatives opposing his foreign abductions We’ll keep fighting in the courts of law & public opinion. I discussed @msnbc.com
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— Norm Eisen (@normeisen.bsky.social) April 29, 2025 at 11:57 AM
Opponents of the president's agenda are also fighting in the courts. In a 100-day roundup, the ACLU said that "Trump has tested every limit, abused every power, and exploited every loophole to silence dissent, disenfranchise marginalized communities, and erode our rule of law."
"These are deliberate tactics designed to enforce compliance through fear, force, and censorship. But we aren't backing down. If the Trump administration wants to go after people's rights and freedoms, they'll have to go through us first. And we were ready for this fight," declared the group, which so far has filed 107 legal actions.
In a Monday blog post, former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich argued that everyone must fight to save a nation that "is tottering on the edge of dictatorship."
"We are no longer Democrats or Republicans. We are either patriots fighting the regime, or we are complicit in its tyranny. There is no middle ground," Reich wrote. "Soon, I fear, the regime will openly defy the Supreme Court."
"Americans must be mobilized into such a huge wave of anger and disgust that members of the House are compelled to impeach Trump (for the third time) and enough senators are moved to finally convict him," he added. "Then this shameful chapter of American history will end."
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'For the Workers, Not the Billionaires': Bernie Sanders to Join Nationwide Rallies for May Day
"Bernie knows that when the working class—labor, immigrants, community members—stand together, we are force that can defeat any bad boss," said the Philadelphia chapter of the AFL-CIO.
Apr 29, 2025
As U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders continues his nationwide Fighting Oligarchy tour, the longtime economic justice advocate is joining forces with organizers of another major mass mobilization against the "Billionaire Agenda" that has left working families struggling to afford healthcare, education, and the rising cost of living.
On Thursday, one of more than 1,100 May Day rallies will be held at Philadelphia City Hall, where Sanders (I-Vt.) will join the city's AFL-CIO chapter under the banner, "For the Workers, Not the Billionaires."
Announcing that Sanders will speak at the rally at 4:00 pm Thursday, the union said on Facebook that "Bernie knows that when the working class—labor, immigrants, community members—stand together, we are force that can defeat any bad boss... When workers fight, workers win!"
As Common Dreams reported last week, labor unions and advocacy groups are planning rallies in nearly 1,000 cities across all 50 states to mark May 1 or May Day, which commemorates the struggles and victories of the labor movement throughout history.
The events are taking place more than two months into Sanders' Fighting Oligarchy tour, during which he and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) have drawn crowds of thousands in Republican districts in Nebraska, Iowa, Idaho, and other states—addressing a total of 250,000 people, about a third of whom are not registered Democrats, according to Sanders' office.
Advocates say the tour has demonstrated the broad appeal of the progressive lawmakers' prioritizing of issues that impact working families, their demand that the Democratic Party aggressively fight the Trump agenda in any way that they can, and their rejection of billionaires' and corporations' encroachment on the U.S. political system and hoarding of wealth.
Like the Fighting Oligarchy tour, the May Day 2025 rallies aim to "unite working people across race, immigration status, and geography," according to organizers, with attendees demanding:
- An end to the billionaire takeover and government corruption, including tech mogul Elon Musk's spearheading of efforts to slash hundreds of thousands of federal jobs and dismantle agencies;
- Full funding for public schools, healthcare, and housing;
- Protection and expansion of Medicaid, Social Security, and other essential programs that have been attacked by Musk and Trump;
- A halt to attacks on immigrants, Black, Indigenous, trans, and other targeted communities; and
- Strong union protections, fair wages, and dignity for all workers.
After the May Day rally, Sanders is expected to hold events in Harrisburg and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania—located in two of the state's most competitive swing districts that are represented by Republican Reps. Scott Perry and Ryan Mackenzie.
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Trump 'Took a Hatchet' to Major US Climate Report by Dismissing All Its Authors
"The only beneficiaries of disrupting or killing this report are the fossil fuel industry and those intent on boosting oil and gas profits," said one person who was working on the 6th National Climate Assessment.
Apr 29, 2025
Hundreds of scientists and experts working on the National Climate Assessment were dismissed by the Trump administration via email on Monday, casting doubt on the future of the federal government's flagship climate report, which was slated to come out by 2028.
On Monday, those working on the 6th version of the report received an email from the Trump administration that the scope of the assessment is being "reevaluated in accordance with the Global Change Research Act of 1990"—in reference to the legislation that mandated the creation of the National Climate Assessment.
"We are now releasing all current assessment participants from their roles," continued the email, the text of which was included in a Monday statement from the group the Union of Concerned Scientists.
"Today, the Trump administration senselessly took a hatchet to a crucial and comprehensive U.S. climate science report by dismissing its authors without cause or a plan," said Dr. Rachel Cleetus, a senior policy director at the Union of Concerned Scientists and an author for the 6th National Climate Assessment (NCA) on the coasts chapter, said on Monday. "People around the nation rely on the NCA to understand how climate change is impacting their daily lives already and what to expect in the future. While not policy prescriptive, the findings of previous reports underscore the importance of cutting heat-trapping emissions and investing in climate resilience to protect communities and the economy."
"The only beneficiaries of disrupting or killing this report are the fossil fuel industry and those intent on boosting oil and gas profits at the expense of people's health and the nation's economic well-being," added Cleetus.
Since entering office, Trump has signed executive orders aimed at bolstering oil, gas, and coal and installed Cabinet members with ties to the fossil fuel industry.
The assessment, which is required by Congress, has been released every few years since 2000 and gives a rundown of how global warming is impacting different sectors of the economy, ecosystems, and communities. The energy and environment focused outlet E&E Newsreported Tuesday that the report is "seen by experts as the definitive body of research about how global warming is transforming the country."
The report last came out in 2023. That National Climate Assessment established that the "effects of human-caused climate change are already far-reaching and worsening across every region" of the United States. The report's authors warned that absent deeper cuts in fossil fuel emissions and accelerated adaption efforts compared to what's currently underway, "severe climate risks to the United States will continue to grow."
Earlier in April, the Trump administration enacted cuts to the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which oversees the production of the National Climate Assessment.
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