Foreign-built factories bring American jobs but not American profits, economist Justin Wolfers argued, taking aim at President Donald Trump's boasts of $21 trillion in investment in the U.S.

Profits Go Abroad

In a post on X Wednesday, Wolfers said the jobs from a foreign-built factory stay in the U.S., but the profits go to the companies abroad.

"When a foreign company builds a factory here, the jobs are American. The profits aren't."

"Selling away more of America is a strange thing for a president to brag about," the University of Michigan professor added.

Trump Links Investment Boast to Tariffs

Earlier this month, Trump said at a rally in Clarksville, Tennessee, "We have $21 trillion being invested in our country, more than at any time, for any country anywhere in the world." The White House's own investment tracker adds up to $11.3 trillion at face value.

At a rally in Georgia on Saturday, Trump said Audi, the premium unit of Volkswagen AG, will invest about $4 billion in a Georgia assembly plant and create about 4,500 jobs. Audi has no U.S. plant, and tariffs cost it about $1.4 billion last year.

Foreign Investment and Trade Deficit 'Two Sides of the Same Coin'

Wolfers said foreign investment and trade deficits are linked, since money flowing in from abroad is the flip side of goods flowing in.

"When the president says that what he wants is more foreign investment, it is necessarily the case that that will lead to a larger trade deficit. They're two sides of the same coin," he said.

The U.S. goods trade deficit unexpectedly widened 2.1% to $134.9 billion in September, the largest since March 2025, as imports hit a record $344.1 billion, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

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