GOP lawmaker touts $19M Trump tariff success story in her district: 'New model for American manufacturing'

Rep. Erin Houchin, R-Ind., told Fox News Digital that Guardian Bikes is starting with a new $19 million investment in Seymour, Indiana to expand their operations there - which she said will create new local jobs.

"The number of job opportunities that are available, the investment right here in southern Indiana, that's money that's staying right here at home and not going outside the country. And certainly away from China," Houchin said in her first interview on the topic.

The Indiana Republican, now in her second term, said she first visited Guardian Bikes shortly after being elected to Congress. At the time, they had just 16 employees, she said.

Guardian Bikes specifically relied on Chinese imports for 70% of its production, she said.

After Trump's election in November 2024, however, she said "they have been slowly working toward being 100% made in the USA."

Houchin said the company is aiming to increase its "mass market" bicycles manufactured in the U.S. from 100,000 to over 1 million.

"That's just very, very exciting," she said.

Guardian Bikes also currently has locations in California and Pennsylvania, with two more expected in Texas and Georgia this year, according to the company's website.

The site also touts the company's plans to manufacture its bike frames in Indiana, and vows to be "rapidly" moving toward being made entirely within the United States.

"We brought Guardian Bikes production to the U.S., because we believe the future of manufacturing is local, fast, and data-driven. Indiana, and specifically Seymour, offers the perfect combination of workforce, infrastructure, and proximity to our customer base," Guardian Bikes CEO Brian Riley told Fox News Digital. "It's not just about making bikes - it's about building a new model for American manufacturing."

Supporters of the plan, however, have hailed it as both a potent negotiating strategy and a long-needed solution to jobs moving overseas.

A cornerstone of Trump's policy has been a 10% tariff on all imports to the U.S. Plans for additional reciprocal tariffs, which Trump announced earlier this month, were dropped against countries that have not retaliated against the U.S.

However, Trump has levied a massive 145% base tariff across all of Beijing's exports in a bid to crack down on the U.S.'s growing reliance on Chinese manufacturing.

When reached for comment by Fox News Digital, White House spokesman Kush Desai told Fox News Digital, "Trillions in historic investment commitments from industry leaders - now including Guardian Bikes - since Election Day only reinforces what President Trump has been saying all along: if you make your product in America, you don't have to worry about tariffs."