VIEWPOINT | South Dakota manufacturers need Trump's tariff protection
Guest column by Bill Allen, Showplace Cabinetry president & CEO
During a recent press conference, Senator John Thune remarked, “I’ve seen firsthand the positive impact that businesses like Showplace Cabinetry in Harrisburg, South Dakota, have on the local community. Manufacturing businesses provide good paying jobs and opportunities for so many hardworking Americans, and it is critical that they have the regulatory certainty that they need to thrive.”
Senator Thune is correct: the cabinet industry alone supports 250,000 American jobs, and thousands of positions in South Dakota. However, across America’s heartland, these jobs are under threat due to predatory foreign trade practices seeking to undermine American cabinetmakers.
As the President and CEO of Showplace Cabinetry, every day I walk the factory floor and meet with our workers, who are truly the backbone of our great American cabinet company. We are proud to support over 700 employees at a 100 percent employee-owned company, a business model that is hard to find these days and all the more necessary to preserve. Our craftsmanship is exceptional, and our team earns a very comprehensive benefits package and family-supporting salaries. As underpriced foreign cabinet imports inundate the U.S. market at unprecedented levels, the hardworking Americans in this $14 billion industry must be at the forefront of the discussion as President Donald Trump weighs targeted tariff action.
