In a corner of a cavernous 1890s factory in southern Massachusetts, 15 people are bent over sewing machines, churning out specialty, hospital-grade neonatal gear.
They are all that remain of what was once a much bigger manufacturing operation, most of which the Teixeira family shut down in 1990, reinventing their business as a largely warehousing and distribution business.
Since US President Donald Trump started rolling out sweeping tariffs, the Teixeiras have been fielding more inquiries from companies newly interested in their US-based sewing services.
But they have turned down those offers, deterred by the difficulty of hiring in the midst of an immigration crackdown and doubts that the demand will be sustained.
It's just one of the many indications that achieving the manufacturing revival promised by the president is likely to be far more difficult than the White House has claimed.
It's just not going to happen, said Frank Teixeira, who joined the family business in the 1970s and oversaw its dismantling and reinvention as Accurate Services Inc.
Tariffs are a bad policy and eventually are going to come home to haunt us.
Trump campaigned for the presidency on the promise of a better economy, engineered in part by tariffs that he said would lower costs and usher in a new golden age.
But those plans were widely panned by experts, who warned that the tariffs would raise prices for American businesses and consumers and slow growth - with particular risks for manufacturers, who often rely on imported supplies.
Now nine months into the president's term as the tariffs take hold, the gulf between Trump's rhetoric and the reality on the ground in places like Fall River is starting to show.
Employment growth in the US has slowed precipitously this year, including in manufacturing. Last month alone saw a shrinking of payrolls at manufacturing firms by 12,000 jobs.
In Fall River, the sentiment among long-standing businesses like Accurate Services and Matouk illustrates the growing frustrations. Matouk, a high-end bedding manufacturer, has reported a significant increase in costs due to tariffs, which he claims won't lead to any real benefits for local manufacturers.
We've done all of the things we were supposed to do to invest in the industrial base of the United States, and it's just really frustrating that now we're being penalised, expressed George Matouk.
As some support Trump's vision for a manufacturing resurgence, many local business leaders express skepticism. The path to revival appears to be fraught with challenges, indicating that the promises made by the administration may be far from reality.
