Tariffs manufacturing jobs push has not worked, Altana CEO says
Altana CEO Evan Smith says U.S. tariffs have not restored factory jobs, while AI is becoming central to managing trade rules.
By Maya Lindqvist · Senior Technology Correspondent
3 min read
Tariffs manufacturing jobs gains have not materialized in the United States, according to Altana co-founder and CEO Evan Smith. Smith told The Verge’s Decoder podcast that the world still depends on cross-border supply chains even as U.S. trade policy becomes more volatile.
Smith runs Altana, a software company that maps supply chains and helps governments, logistics companies and importers manage trade compliance. He said the company’s view of shipping and trade data gives it a broad look at how policy changes are affecting global commerce.
Did tariffs bring manufacturing jobs back?
Asked whether tariffs had succeeded in returning manufacturing work to the U.S., Smith’s answer was no, according to The Verge. The tariffs were intended to encourage domestic production, but Smith said global supply chains remain central to how goods move and how economies function.
Smith described trade as tied to everyday costs and access to goods, including fuel, food and medical devices. He said Altana’s mission is to improve globalization rather than retreat from it, with more trust, security and fairness in cross-border trade.
The discussion came as U.S. trade rules continue to change under the Trump administration. The Verge also cited the war in Iran as part of a broader period of uncertainty that is putting more pressure on economic chokepoints, including the Strait of Hormuz.
What does Altana do?
Altana builds software that gives governments and companies a shared picture of supply chains. Smith compared it to a map for global trade, with artificial intelligence helping parties share information and comply with rules.
According to Smith, Altana works with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, eight of the world’s 10 largest logistics providers, Fortune 1,000 companies and suppliers. He said the company also works with nine governments and has three product lines for different government users.
Altana has just under 300 employees, Smith said, and may have passed that mark after acquiring Cervo AI. The company announced the acquisition during the same period as the interview, according to The Verge.
Why AI is becoming part of customs work
Cervo AI builds tools for customs brokerage, an area that has become more demanding as paperwork and enforcement requirements grow. Smith said Altana is using AI agents to help with interactions inside companies and between companies, governments and logistics providers.
He argued that artificial intelligence is needed to keep trade moving while governments increase enforcement. In his view, AI can help handle the complexity of border rules without cutting off commerce.
Smith also said AI is changing how Altana builds software. Product managers, designers, engineers and domain experts are taking on overlapping tasks as tools make prototyping and coding faster, he told The Verge.
He cautioned that building reliable software for major institutions remains difficult. Smith said Altana still has to meet demanding service requirements, including 99.999 percent uptime for some workloads, even as AI speeds up development.
Smith said AI token spending has risen at the margins but has not materially affected Altana’s bottom line. He said the company sees productivity gains from AI tools, while technology companies are still debating controls around frontier model costs.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.