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Trade & Policy

U.S. 5-Year Plan Rejects Free Trade For Fair Trade

• By  Textile Excellence
• February 01, 2026

The U.S. State Department’s newly released five-year strategic plan marks a clear shift: trade policy is now explicitly framed as a tool of statecraft. Commercial diplomacy, supply-chain security, and enforcement are no longer peripheral, they sit at the core of U.S. foreign policy. For global manufacturers and exporters, this signals a more interventionist, security-driven trade environment.

The plan rejects the idea of “free trade” in favour of what Washington calls “fair trade,” openly prioritising U.S. reindustrialisation, domestic employment, and productivity. Expect wider use of reciprocal tariffs, trade remedy investigations, and aggressive scrutiny of tariff evasion and transshipment. Companies with complex, multi-country supply chains, especially those touching China or other “adversarial jurisdictions” should brace for deeper examination of sourcing, ownership structures, and trade flows.

Reindustrialisation sits at the heart of the strategy. The State Department will work with Commerce and the USTR to identify critical sectors - from advanced manufacturing and material sciences to logistics and data infrastructure - and actively reduce foreign dependencies. Foreign investment will be encouraged only where it builds U.S. capacity, not where it accelerates deindustrialisation.

Regionally, the plan prioritises near-shoring in the Western Hemisphere, reinforcing supply chains in friendly countries while blocking adversaries from controlling strategic infrastructure. In the Indo-Pacific, the focus is on countering China-centric dependencies through bilateral trade deals and secure trade lanes. Europe, despite sharp rhetoric, faces pressure to reindustrialise, deregulate, and align more closely with U.S. strategic interests.

For exporters and sourcing hubs worldwide, the message is blunt: trade decisions are now geopolitical decisions. Compliance, transparency, and alignment with U.S. strategic priorities are becoming prerequisites for market access, not optional safeguards.

The plan rejects the idea of “free trade” in favour of what Washington calls “fair trade,” openly prioritising U.S. reindustrialisation, domestic employment, and productivity. Expect wider use of reciprocal tariffs, trade remedy investigations, and aggressive scrutiny of tariff evasion and transshipment. Companies with complex, multi-country supply chains, especially those touching China or other “adversarial jurisdictions” should brace for deeper examination of sourcing, ownership structures, and trade flows.