Trump overstates the number of U.S. factories lost since NAFTA while defending tariff hikes

President Trump has argued his new tariffs will help reverse the long decline of U.S. manufacturing, pointing to the loss of "90,000 factories" since the North American Free Trade Agreement took effect in 1994.

"Since the very beginning of NAFTA, our country lost 90,000 factories," Mr. Trump said during his Rose Garden speech on April 2, as he announced a host of tariff hikes. The president repeated the claim in his Monday remarks. 

While the U.S. has seen a decline in the number of factories, the claim of 90,000 factories lost appears to be based on outdated data and includes small facilities with only a few employees.