Donald Trump’s recent comments about needing to “bring talent into the country” raised eyebrows, as it seemed to contradict his administration’s “America First” immigration policies. He stated that Americans “don’t have certain talents” for certain technical jobs, suggesting a need for skilled foreign workers.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has now clarified that this need is highly specific and, more importantly, temporary. The plan is not to replace Americans, but to train them. Bessent explained that the new H-1B policy would be a “knowledge transfer” program, where experts come, “train American workers,” and then “go home.”
The core of the issue, according to Bessent, lies in strategic industries like shipbuilding and semiconductor manufacturing. “We haven’t built ships in the US for years, we haven’t built semiconductors,” he stated. This neglect has created a skills gap so large that “An American can’t have that job, not yet.”
The new policy would bring in “overseas partners” with this missing expertise for a fixed term, which Bessent suggested could be “three, five, seven years.” Their entire purpose would be to act as instructors, transferring their specialized knowledge to the domestic workforce.
This “train and return” model is being hailed as a “home run.” It allows the US to rebuild its industrial base by learning from foreign experts, without creating a permanent class of foreign workers. Once the American workers “fully take over,” the temporary trainers will “return home,” having served their purpose.
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