A cellphone video shot by an employee and posted on YouTube rapidly went viral, making this particular plant closing a national news story, after which Donald Trump made the company's decision to move to Mexico, "a centerpiece of his stump speeches attacking free trade.
Shortly after becoming president-elect, Trump and vice-president elect Mike Pence announced a deal with Carrier to keep some of the manufacturing jobs in Indiana, while others would still move to Mexico, in exchange for large tax credits granted to the corporation.
On February 10, 2016, Carrier announced its plans to move its manufacture of air conditioning equipment, now located in Indianapolis, Indiana, to Monterrey, Mexico in 2017.
[13] According to The New York Times, three days after the Carrier announcement, Presidential candidate Donald Trump made the company's decision to move to Mexico, "a centerpiece of his stump speeches attacking free trade.
"[10] During the February 13, 2016, Republican Presidential Primary Debate, Trump referenced the video, saying that if elected he would l impose a 35% tax on every air conditioner Carrier imports from Mexico.
[19] Voters supporting both Sanders and Trump told The New York Times journalists that the loss of jobs caused by free trade policies was their #1 issue.
[7] Financial journalists including David Dayen, and Lance Selfa have used the Carrier move to analyze the argument, made by Sanders and Trump, that the offshoring of manufacturing jobs hurts American workers.
Dismissing Trump's argument as "folk economics," Tim Worstall argues that moving production to low-wage countries like Mexico is good for Americans who can buy air conditioners more cheaply.
[20] By contrast, Jim Cramer thinks Trump is correct when he asserts that trade deals lowering tariff barriers have devastated the American economy.
[24] On November 28, the CEO of United Technologies traveled to New York and met with Vice President-elect Pence at Trump Tower, where they reached a deal on state incentives.
[27] As details emerged, it appeared that Carrier had agreed to keep one third of the 2,100 jobs it had planned to move to Mexico in Indiana in exchange for about $7 million in government subsidies over the course of 10 years.