ICYMI: NAM’s Jay Timmons Discusses Trade Policy, Tax Reform, Regulations on “Yahoo Finance”
Watch Jay Timmons on “Yahoo Finance”
Timmons on Trade Deal Negotiations
“I don’t think that there is any question that Donald Trump wants to grow manufacturing in the United States. That has been a mantra for him since he decided to run for political office. The key is, again, making sure that we have that certainty and that we have a reduction in the cost of doing business. So we’re waiting to see what happens in the next 90 days. The president has said he’s going to get these deals done. Manufacturers need to see progress on that. We were happy to see that today, the prime minister of Italy is there talking about basically a ‘zero for zero’ tariff regime, which means that we can participate in free trade with Europe, if that is acceptable. We also want to make sure that as we’re negotiating these agreements, that we’re pulling out some critical materials, like critical minerals and chemicals and machines that are used on the shop floor, that’s going to be really critical. And then hopefully there’s going to be some focus on an incentive for manufacturers who are actually investing here but still having to pay tariffs.”
Timmons on Tax Reform, Regulatory Rebalancing, Tariffs
“The way that we grow manufacturing in the United States is to lower the cost of doing business. Think in terms of tax policy. We’re still waiting for Congress to act on renewing the 2017 tax reforms, regulatory rebalancing, and to their credit, the administration is tackling that right now. We want to also see an expansion of domestic energy production, that should be coming as well. But these tariffs and the trade policy that’s been announced, pulled back, announced again, that’s causing a lot of uncertainty for manufacturers, and so they’re kind of taking a pause and waiting to see what’s coming next, because we don’t know.”
Background
For additional information on the impact of tariffs on manufacturers, please see the NAM’s tariff survey one-pager here. For the full results of the NAM’s Q1 2025 Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey, see here.
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The National Association of Manufacturers is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs nearly 13 million men and women, contributes $2.93 trillion to the U.S. economy annually and accounts for 53% of private-sector research and development. The NAM is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States. For more information about the NAM or to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, please visit www.nam.org.