‘Tariffs have been incredible’: Trump says America’s ‘rocking’ as Toyota, giants pour billions into US. Was he right?

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President Donald Trump has spent years arguing that tariffs would force companies to rethink where they build their products.

Now, as manufacturers announce billions of dollars in new U.S. investments and the stock market reaches fresh record-breaking highs, Trump says his strategy is delivering exactly what he promised.

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“Tariffs have been incredible,” Trump said (1) during a recent interview with Fox News. “We’ve taken in hundreds of billions of dollars.”

The Supreme Court ruled against the legal mechanism Trump had used to impose many of those tariffs earlier this year, but the president remains unfazed.

The court “gave us a little shot,” he said, arguing that his administration is still allowed to impose tariffs through a different legal route.

“We’ve done it a different way, and it’s just frankly, it’s just as good,” Trump said. “A little more complex, but just as good.”

But in Trump’s telling, the real payoff goes beyond the revenue collected at the border.

Companies that do not want to pay tariffs on imported goods are increasingly choosing to manufacture their products inside the U.S. instead, he argued.

“What it’s done is it’s brought all these companies that didn’t want to pay,” Trump said. “If you build here, if you make your car here — like Toyota just announced they’re building one of the largest car plants in the world. They’re coming out of Mexico. Others are coming here.”

Toyota recently announced a $3.6 billion investment (2) in a new facility at its San Antonio manufacturing campus. The Japanese automaker plans to shift production of its Tacoma pickup truck from a plant in Baja California, Mexico, to Texas once the new facility opens, creating more than 2,000 jobs.

And Toyota is hardly alone. Automakers, pharmaceutical companies, technology giants and industrial manufacturers have announced substantial investments in U.S. facilities.

The White House (3) has highlighted investments from companies including Toyota, Stellantis, Kraft Heinz and numerous semiconductor and energy businesses as evidence that production is returning to American soil. Stellantis, for instance, announced a $13 billion U.S. investment (4) intended to expand its domestic production by more than 50% — the largest in the company’s history.

“Our country is rocking and rolling,” Trump declared. “We’ve never been this successful.”

Tariffs: help or harm?

Economists generally view tariffs as a double-edged sword.

On one hand, they can protect domestic industries by making imported goods more expensive, giving local manufacturers a competitive edge. On the other hand, higher tariffs may result in increased costs for consumers, as companies pass on the extra expenses. This can lead to inflation, eroding household purchasing power and raising the cost of living.

Research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (5) finds that nearly 90% of tariff costs are borne by U.S. firms and consumers, rather than foreign producers. Meanwhile, the Joint Economic Committee (6) estimated that tariffs cost the average American family more than $1,700 during the 12 months from February 2025 through January 2026.

In other words, the effort to bring factories home could also put renewed pressure on grocery bills, household budgets and the purchasing power of their savings.

That is a particularly sensitive trade-off after several years of elevated prices. Since 2020, the U.S. consumer price index has risen by 28% (7).

Look further back, and the long-term damage becomes even more striking.

Inflation has been steadily chipping away at the value of Americans’ hard-earned dollars. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis (8), $100 in 2026 has the same purchasing power as just $11.74 did in 1970.

That’s right — $100 turned into less than $12.

Fortunately, investors are not powerless against inflation. For generations, they have turned to assets designed to preserve purchasing power when the value of money declines.

And few have stood the test of time quite like gold.

Its appeal is simple: unlike fiat currencies, the yellow metal can’t be printed at will by central banks.

Gold is also considered the ultimate safe haven. It’s not tied to any one country, currency or economy, and in times of economic turmoil or geopolitical uncertainty, investors often flock to it — driving prices higher.

Ray Dalio, founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, told CNBC last year that “People don’t have, typically, an adequate amount of gold in their portfolio,” adding, “When bad times come, gold is a very effective diversifier.”

Over the past five years, as inflation continued to chip away at the purchasing power of the dollar, gold has climbed 147%.

Other prominent voices see further potential. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has said that in this environment, gold can “easily” rise to $10,000 an ounce.

One way to invest in gold that can also provide significant tax advantages is to open a gold IRA with the help of Goldco.

Gold IRAs allow investors to hold physical gold or gold-related assets within a retirement account, thereby combining the tax advantages of an IRA with the protective benefits of investing in gold, making it a compelling potential option for those wanting to ensure their retirement funds are diversified during rough economic times.

Goldco offers free shipping and access to a library of retirement resources. Plus, the company will match up to 10% of qualified purchases in free silver.

If you’re curious whether this is the right investment to diversify your portfolio, you can download your free gold and silver information guide today. Just keep in mind that gold is usually best used as one part of your portfolio.

Read More: Millionaires under 43 hold only 25% of their wealth in stocks. Here’s where their money is actually going

Profit from America’s comeback

Tariffs may carry risks, but Trump frequently points to one powerful indicator that investors remain optimistic about the U.S. economy: the stock market.

“We hit an all time stock market high,” he said, adding that Americans’ 401(k) accounts were also at record levels.

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average did recently reach fresh highs, supported by strong corporate earnings, heavy spending on artificial-intelligence infrastructure and optimism that tensions in the Middle East could ease.

For investors looking to tap into that growth, one of the simplest approaches is gaining broad exposure through an index fund — a strategy long championed by investing legend Warren Buffett.

Buffett has repeatedly argued (9) that for most people, “the best thing to do is own the S&P 500 index fund.” By tracking the index, investors gain exposure to 500 of America’s largest companies across a wide range of industries, providing instant diversification without the need for constant monitoring or active trading.

The beauty of this approach is its accessibility — anyone, regardless of wealth, can take advantage of it. Even small amounts can grow over time with tools like Acorns, a popular app that automatically invests your spare change.

Signing up for Acorns takes just minutes: link your cards, and Acorns will round up each purchase to the nearest dollar, investing the difference — your spare change — into a diversified portfolio.

With Acorns, you can invest in an S&P 500 ETF with as little as $5 — and, if you sign up today with a recurring investment, Acorns will add a $20 bonus to help you begin your investment journey.

For investors interested in individual stocks, research tools like Moby can come in handy. Their team of former hedge fund analysts does the heavy lifting — breaking down the market, flagging quality stocks, and making the research easy to digest.

In fact, across nearly 400 stock picks over the past four years, Moby’s recommendations have beaten the S&P 500 by almost 12% on average. Their research keeps you up-to-the-minute on market shifts, and takes the guesswork out of choosing investments.

Plus, their reports are easy to understand for beginners, so you can become a smarter investor in just five minutes.

Prepare for the boom — and the risks

Trump’s economic vision presents investors with two very different possibilities.

If tariffs help accelerate domestic manufacturing, business investment and economic growth, U.S. stocks could continue to benefit.

But if those same policies push prices higher, disrupt supply chains or prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates, investors may also need assets designed to preserve purchasing power and reduce portfolio risk.

The challenge is determining how much to allocate to each side of that equation.

Everyone’s financial situation is different, and the right mix of assets depends on factors such as income, retirement timeline, financial obligations and tolerance for market swings. When you factor in the impact of tariffs, things get even more complicated.

That is where working with a financial adviser can help.

If you have a portfolio of $250,000 or more, platforms like WiserAdvisor can connect you with vetted professionals who specialize in this kind of planning.

Simply answer a few questions about your savings, retirement timeline and overall investment portfolio.

From there, WiserAdvisor reviews its network to match you — for free — with up to three vetted, reputable advisors aligned with your specific needs.

You can then schedule no-obligation consultations with your matches to determine who is the best fit for your long-term goals.

WiserAdvisor is a matching service and does not provide financial advice directly. All matched advisors are third parties, and specific financial results are not guaranteed.

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Article Sources

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Fox News (1); Toyota (2); The White House (3); Stellantis (4); New York Fed (5); Joint Economic Committee (6); FRED (7); Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis (8); CNBC (9)

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.