California's Permits Block Factories

California’s current regulatory and permitting regime effectively prevents construction of large industrial facilities — from semiconductor fabs and EV plants to modern shipyards — so existing capacity persists only where legacy firms were grandfathered in. This is a supply‑side bottleneck that cannot be fixed with tariffs, trade policy, or headline industrial subsidies alone. — If true, it reframes debates about reshoring and industrial policy: the immediate leverage is streamlining permitting and local regulatory rules, not bigger subsidies or import barriers.