The Trump administration introduced new tariffs and provisions disqualifying foreign-made products from lucrative tax credits, driving many consumer technology companies to invest in new or expanded manufacturing in the U.S.
One sector seeing a lot of activity on this front is the $700 billion global home appliances industry. In August 2025, GE Appliances announced it will invest more than $3 billion into new U.S. factories; Samsung, LG, and others were reportedly considering moving manufacturing operations to the U.S. from Mexico in the days following Trump’s second inauguration. And elsewhere, U.S.-based manufacturers like Whirlpool have spoken about the windfalls they could experience if and when competitors are hit with import duties.
This is just the latest example of how trade policy can influence private sector operations and, ultimately, drive economic and workforce development. However, a U.S. appliance manufacturing boom could be stalled by another emerging policy change: lowered energy efficiency standards.
Trump has also brought a wave of uncertainty over the long-term fate of programs that promote manufacturing and purchasing of energy-efficient appliances. His administration has threatened to eliminate or privatize Energy Star, the established, successful, and well-known consumer and commercial efficiency program. On a much larger scale, the potential rollbacks of dozens of regulations within the Department of Energy’s Appliance and Equipment Standards Program represent a major setback; if finalized, they would signal to manufacturers that investing in energy efficiency is not a lucrative strategy.
Lowering or eliminating appliance efficiency standards and cutting incentives for high-efficiency products — especially at a time when manufacturing powerhouses are investing in U.S. markets — will have a negative long-term impact on domestic manufacturing growth and global competitiveness.
Manufacturers face two choices
Manufacturers pay close attention to national and global regulations and will make decisions to upgrade manufacturing, enter new markets, evolve their product offerings, and more based on these trends. While it’s too soon to say how manufacturers entering the U.S. in the coming years will directly respond to less-stringent efficiency standards, there are two possible paths forward.
One option: Manufacturers may invest in production of low-efficiency equipment at new U.S. factories if federal efficiency standards are significantly rolled back. But the U.S. policy environment is notoriously polarized, so manufacturers cannot make investment decisions based solely on today’s policies. Those who invest in sub-standard manufacturing and produce lower-quality products could find themselves misaligned with a future administration’s priorities, needing to safeguard short-sighted investments made when standards were more lax.
And the consequences of shortsightedness would trickle down to consumers: Proliferation of low-efficiency appliances will result in higher energy bills and household carbon footprints, particularly for low-income communities.
So, what’s the other option? Strategic, forward-looking manufacturers will invest in facilities that produce modern, cutting-edge appliances, regardless of the policy environment. In this way, U.S.-made products can remain competitive in global markets with varying standards while also supporting a cleaner, more affordable future for U.S. consumers.
Looking outside our borders
There are countless examples of efficiency programs and incentives bolstering local economic growth, increasing energy independence, and improving access to essential technologies across the world. The U.S. should take cues from these success stories.
Brazil, for example, used to be a major manufacturer of refrigerators, dominating exports to countries such as Kenya, Mexico, and the U.S. But industry lobbying kept the country’s appliance efficiency standards weak and they were soon lagging behind these key markets, producing obsolete equipment, and being shut off from lucrative trading opportunities. It wasn’t until the Brazilian government revised their refrigerator efficiency policy in recent years that manufacturing investment started up again.
Following the new policy, Midea, a leading manufacturer, put $122 million into a new Brazilian factory, while Electrolux, Whirlpool, and others upgraded production lines to build more efficient appliances.
Another example of the transformative effects of efficiency standards can be found in India, where the Bureau of Energy Efficiency adopted a world-leading policy for ceiling fans in 2023, dramatically raising the efficiency requirement for the appliance. As a result, India’s manufacturing base has expanded. New players and small businesses have entered the ecosystem, and innovative technologies are the new mainstream. The cost of highly efficient fans has gone down almost by half, making efficient appliances more affordable for consumers and enabling wider access to this critical cooling tool, especially in rural and low-income households.
As these examples illustrate, a win-win solution exists; it’s just up to U.S. manufacturers to choose it.
Manufacturers investing in domestic operations today must do so with tomorrow’s needs in mind. In any policy environment, prioritizing high-quality infrastructure and energy-efficient appliances will help the U.S. claim a larger share of the global market and bolster trade relationships with markets that currently lack access to high-efficiency appliances.
Meanwhile, at home, Americans will also have reliable access to appliances that can lower their household energy costs and emissions for years to come — regardless of the contemporary policy environment.
Ana Maria Carreño leads CLASP’s climate program, working with governments and partners around the world to develop energy efficiency policies for high-priority appliances. The opinions represented in this contributed article are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the views of Latitude Media or any of its staff.
