If they invest elsewhere, they will have limited access to the U.S. market—that is Trump’s policy it seems.
If the U.S. has one thing going for it, it’s the strength of its market, characterized by high consumer spending and strong potential for growth. Contrast this with the Japanese consumer market, for instance: in real terms, salaries have not increased over the past 10 years, and consumer spending is below what it was a decade ago. (Note: I love Japan, but this is the reality.) European market is between these extremes I believe. The U.S. market may be significantly more attractive to most companies.
If the high tarriff environment sticks around, including reciprocal tarriffs, the issue is either you produce in the US and have good access to the US and poor access everywhere else, or you produce outside the US and have poor access to the US, and good access to much of everywhere else (depending on things).
The US is a big and important market, and for some things, it would be better to forgo competitiveness in the rest of world market; but for others, rest of world adds up to be more important.
Same line of thinking was used during the Great Depression of 1929, protectionist measures only made everything worse, deepening and extending the recession.
If the U.S. has one thing going for it, it’s the strength of its market, characterized by high consumer spending and strong potential for growth. Contrast this with the Japanese consumer market, for instance: in real terms, salaries have not increased over the past 10 years, and consumer spending is below what it was a decade ago. (Note: I love Japan, but this is the reality.) European market is between these extremes I believe. The U.S. market may be significantly more attractive to most companies.