In January, he threatened Toyota that if it did not close a plant it is building in Mexico, it would have to pay “a big border tax.”<br />In response, Toyota’s North American president, Jim Lentz, said a border tax would raise the price of every American-made vehicle — ultimately resulting in job losses in the United States —<br />because nearly all of those domestically produced vehicles include parts made abroad.<br />“You might think you’re protecting a class of workers, and end up having an impact on others.”<br />The complex filaments connecting average Americans to the forces of global trade can be seen in the lives of Mr. Marshall, laid off by Alcoa,<br />and his two older brothers: Troy, 46, who works on the factory floor at Toyota in Princeton, Ind., where a map with pins in 20 countries depicts the reach of its exports; and Jeremy, 41, an elementary schoolteacher, who is struggling to maintain his perch in the middle class.<br />Should Mr. Trump impose steep import taxes on goods from Mexico<br />and China, economists say it could drive other nations to raise taxes on American exports — at a cost in American jobs.<br />Import tariffs that might have protected Brandon’s smelting job could theoretically threaten Troy’s job at Toyota, as well as raise the living costs for Jeremy, who finds<br />that even as a member of the white-collar middle class, he needs a second job to make ends meet.<br />Would Jeremy buy a $15 American tape measure — and would he see it as protecting his brothers’ jobs?<br />But if all those parts coming for Toyota cost more money to get here, is it going to turn jobs away in the long run?”<br />A version of this article appears in print on March 4, 2017, on Page A8 of the New York edition<br />with the headline: For Three Brothers in Indiana, ‘America First’ Cuts Two Ways.<br />“If there’s a tape measure built in the U. S. for $15 and one from China for $6, I try to catch myself now and pay for the American one,” he said.
