Regulatory and Legal Reform

The “30C” tax credit has the potential to spur manufacturing investment, but the Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department must first clarify some of their proposed rules regarding it, the NAM said this week.

What’s going on: In September, the IRS and Treasury Department jointly proposed regulations regarding Section 30C of the U.S. tax code’s Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Tax Credit, which was changed and expanded by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

• “A key purpose of the energy provisions of the IRA was to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and spur manufacturing investments in low emissions and renewable energy sectors,” NAM Vice President of Domestic Policy Chris Phalen told the IRS on Monday.
• “Manufacturers make vehicles that use alternative fueling stations, many of our members produce the components … that go into these stations and manufacturers will construct and operate these refueling properties. These companies require certainty and specificity to make final investment decisions.”

What must be done: To that end, the NAM told the agencies the following changes should be made to the proposed regulations for the 30C tax credit:

• Extend the allowed transition period for organizations to update “census tract designations to reflect population data in the years 2016–2020,” as the draft rulemaking mandates that those wishing to take advantage of the 30C credit “must place the property into service within a specific census tract designation.”
• Clarify whether the location of the refueling infrastructure “would need to be made available to the public to qualify for the 30C tax credit.”
• Provide tax credit “eligibility for certain property directly attributable to the operation of alternative fuel vehicle refueling property, such as electrical panels and conduit/wiring, and ask that the agency also consider related construction and other project costs for eligibility.”

With a new administration and Congress on the horizon, the NAM is signaling confidence in its ability to secure wins for manufacturing in the United States, highlighting both recent achievements and policy priorities moving forward.

“The NAM has always focused on what’s best for manufacturing in America, and our track record speaks to that,” said NAM Executive Vice President Erin Streeter. “Our approach is consistent because we know what it takes to get results.”

What we’ve delivered: With post-partisan engagement, the NAM has achieved historic policy wins across both recent administrations, including:

• Tax reform: The NAM’s advocacy helped shape the 2017 tax cuts, driving billions in savings that manufacturers have reinvested in jobs, innovation and facility upgrades.
• Regulatory certainty: The NAM has played a pivotal role in streamlining regulations, reducing compliance costs under the Trump administration and working to slow regulatory expansion during the Biden years.
• United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement: The NAM was a key advocate for USMCA, safeguarding U.S. jobs by ensuring fairer competition and greater access to key markets.
• Energy advances: NAM-backed policies have supported growth in domestic energy production, creating a more stable energy market.
• Infrastructure and CHIPS Act: The NAM was instrumental in securing the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the CHIPS and Science Act, both critical for modernizing the economy, bolstering national security and ensuring a reliable semiconductor supply.

“These wins demonstrate what we bring to the table,” Streeter said. “By staying focused on manufacturing’s priorities, we can partner effectively with the new administration and Congress to create and protect jobs and strengthen communities.”

Looking ahead: The NAM’s focus on core issues remains critical for keeping the sector competitive and resilient, Streeter continued. These issues include:

• Securing tax reform: The NAM’s “Manufacturing Wins” campaign aims to lock in key 2017 tax provisions that manufacturers rely on for stability and growth. “Tax reform has been a game-changer,” said Streeter. “Protecting that progress means more jobs and manufacturing-led growth across the country.”
• Regulatory certainty: The NAM is advocating for balanced regulations that support competitiveness. “Manufacturers thrive with clear, fair rules,” Streeter noted. “We’re making sure Washington understands the importance of regulatory stability—and the danger of excessive regulation.”
• Energy security: The NAM is working to secure reliable, affordable energy while fostering innovation in sustainability. “Energy security and grid reliability are top of mind for every manufacturer,” Streeter added. “We’re ensuring manufacturers can continue to innovate, grow and drive America forward.”

Bottom line:  The NAM remains focused on advocating for policies that strengthen U.S. manufacturing. “Our success is built on trust and influence,” Streeter said. “Our members know the NAM is a constant force, with the relationships and expertise to deliver, regardless of political changes.”

In related news, President-elect Trump has named campaign manager Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff (Reuters, subscription), a choice NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons called “a powerful move to bring bold, results-driven leadership to the White House from day one.”

President Trump’s first term delivered significant wins for manufacturing in the United States, from tax reform to a regulatory overhaul to new trade agreements. Now, as the president-elect gears up for a second term, we look back on the transformational achievements and the NAM’s role in shaping policies that revitalized manufacturing in the U.S.

“Rocket fuel”: President Trump took the stage at the NAM’s board meeting in September 2017, where he laid out his tax reform agenda, describing it as “rocket fuel” for the U.S. economy. This was no ordinary policy effort—it was a generational initiative that would reshape industry in the United States.

• The impact: The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act delivered a 21% corporate tax rate while instituting full and immediate expensing for capital investments, improved interest deductibility and provided other critical provisions for small manufacturers and the entire industry.
• As a result, manufacturers nationwide reported record optimism, expanded operations, hired more workers, increased wages and benefits and reinvested in their communities.

Regulatory certainty: Recognizing that excessive regulations were stifling growth, the Trump White House asked then-NAM Board Chair David Farr in the first half of 2017 to compile a report from NAM members on the regulations causing them the most harm. The NAM team worked closely with administration leaders to address these pain points, compiling a list of 158 regulations for reform, with an emphasis on regulatory predictability and simplicity.

• The impact: By the close of Trump’s first term, more than 90% of the NAM’s regulatory recommendations were addressed or nearing completion. This unprecedented relief helped manufacturers focus on growth, product innovation and expansion.

Stronger deals: The Trump administration kept manufacturers and the NAM at the table, forging a trilateral deal to strengthen manufacturing’s competitive edge.

• The impact: Thanks in large part to manufacturers’ persistent advocacy work with lawmakers on Capitol Hill, the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement was signed into law, restoring trade certainty for the North American markets that support millions of manufacturing jobs in the United States.
• While the NAM continues to pressure Mexico and Canada to live up to their commitments, the agreement strengthened businesses in the U.S. by ensuring updated trade standards, bolstering protections for intellectual property and digital trade and enhancing cooperation among North American partners.

Energy independence: Under President Trump’s administration, the NAM advanced an all-of-the-above energy strategy that included expanded domestic energy production and efficiency efforts. The NAM partnered with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy to promote practices that both protected the environment and advanced innovation for a sustainable future.

• The impact: As former Trump EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler pointed out recently at NAM headquarters in Washington, the rollback of restrictive energy regulations and the decision to maintain workable standards empowered manufacturers to increase domestic energy production, which reduced costs and bolstered energy independence.
• This balanced approach allowed manufacturers to meet consumer demand, strengthen supply chains and make greater contributions to America’s economy and environmental stewardship.

Safeguarding American IP: Confronting unfair trade practices with China was another priority. In 2019, the NAM worked closely with the White House to secure the “phase one” trade deal with China, which was designed to strengthen protections for American IP and help level the playing field for manufacturers in the U.S.

• The impact: The agreement established enforceable trade standards with China, aiming to protect U.S. innovations and support American jobs.

Operation Warp Speed: As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded, manufacturers were at the forefront of the response. The NAM and its members partnered with the Trump administration to secure essential operations activity to implement Operation Warp Speed, a public–private partnership that fast-tracked the development, manufacturing and distribution of vaccines.

• The impact: Operation Warp Speed delivered lifesaving vaccines in record time, saving millions of lives, ending the global pandemic and demonstrating the unequaled capacity of American innovation and manufacturing.

Dignity of work: To address the skills gap, the Trump White House created the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board, naming NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons a member. Alongside other manufacturing leaders, and with the support of the NAM’s workforce development and education affiliate, the Manufacturing Institute, Timmons worked with the administration to elevate manufacturing careers and expand access to training. In a key event, the NAM and Ivanka Trump, who received the Alexander Hamilton Award for her leadership in championing manufacturing, launched the Creators Wanted Tour in 2020 to inspire the next generation of manufacturers and close the skills gap.

• The impact: Creators Wanted became the largest industry campaign to build excitement about modern manufacturing careers, highlighting the industry’s high-tech, well-paying jobs and reinforcing its role in supporting the American Dream. The campaign helped shift parents’ positive perception of manufacturing careers from 27% to 40% and signed up more than 1.5 million students and career mentors to learn more about manufacturing careers.

Bottom line: “President Trump’s first term reshaped what’s possible for manufacturing in the United States,” said NAM Executive Vice President Erin Streeter. “As he prepares to lead again, manufacturers have the benefit of building on a strong foundation with the president-elect as well as the purpose and pride that the industry brings out in lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.”

Manufacturers, and the data centers they support and use, rely on stable, affordable energy sources. Federal policy must help strengthen the U.S. electric grid and supply chains and address cybersecurity risks and workforce needs, the NAM told the Commerce Department Monday.  

What’s going on: “Manufacturers use one-third of America’s energy, and as such, the growth of our nation’s energy supply is critical to manufacturers’ ability to create jobs, expand operations and grow the economy,” NAM Vice President of Domestic Policy Chris Phalen told Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration in response to a request for comment on the challenges facing data center growth.  

• “In addition to growth in energy generation, manufacturers depend on a stable electric grid to ensure the continuous operation of their facilities.”

The challenge: Grid stability is at approaching an inflection point due to expected explosive growth.

• Phalen cited the 15% potential rise in power demand by the end of the decade (Wood Mackenzie) and an August 2024 Energy Department study that found “electricity generation would need to double to keep up with demand” on the grid.

Call to action: There are several steps that need to be taken to confront the challenges posed by the nationwide growth of data centers, Phalen told the agency. They include the following:

• Reforming the U.S. permitting system: “[T]he NAM strongly encourages the NTIA and all federal agencies with equities in meeting growing energy demand to align with our permitting principles,” which include “[e]xpediting judicial review, [a]ccelerating the permit process for needed energy infrastructure, including more transmission lines, pipelines and permanent carbon sequestration sites … [and] [u]nlocking access to domestic critical minerals.”
• Ensuring energy affordability: In particular, the NTIA should look at the role of natural gas “as a source of baseload power to the data center industry” and as a backup to renewable energy sources.
• Expediting licensing: The federal government should speed up the licensing process for next-generation technologies, such as small modular and advanced nuclear reactors.
• Addressing component shortages: Because “[r]obust growth in data center construction is heightening demand for related essential inputs, stretching existing supply chains … we encourage the NTIA to explore and support federal policies to increase domestic capacity of critical equipment to meet the needs of a modern grid.”
• Mitigating cybersecurity risks: NTIA should urge the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to revise its April draft rule requiring stringent reporting standards for certain security incidents. It should ensure that the final version “fosters collaboration, rather than confusion, between cloud providers and customers and enables each to respond to cyber incidents effectively.”
• Bolstering workforce development efforts: Congress should reauthorize the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, expand Pell grant eligibility to short-term training programs, give more support to industry sector partnerships and more “to reduce the skills gap” that exists in the data center and manufacturing industries.

As part of the NAM’s “Manufacturing Wins” tax campaign, small and medium-sized manufacturers are urging Congress to reinstate the pro-growth interest deductibility standard implemented by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act—which was crucial to making debt financing for capital equipment purchases more affordable for manufacturers.

What’s happening: Tax reform allowed companies to deduct the interest they pay on business loans, up to a cap of 30% of their earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA).

• But as of 2022, companies can only deduct interest up to 30% of their earnings before interest and tax (EBIT). This stricter limit raises borrowing costs for manufacturers, making it harder for them to finance job-creating investments in equipment and machinery.

Why it matters: Ankeny, Iowa–headquartered manufacturer Accumold was able to hire the talent it needed because of tax reform’s incentives for capital investment, including the EBITDA-based business interest limitation. “Thanks to tax reform, Accumold was able to increase our capital investment and add to our teams,” said President and CEO Roger Hargens.

• “By excluding depreciation and amortization expenses from the interest deduction calculation, the EBIT standard makes debt financing more expensive—punishing manufacturers with significant investments in depreciable assets like equipment and machinery, as well as valuable intellectual property subject to amortization,” explained Sukup Manufacturing President and CEO Steve Sukup, whose company is based in Sheffield, Iowa.

Supply chain implications: The change has had far-reaching effects on supply chains across the country, hitting small manufacturers—such as Pennsylvania-based Erie Molded Packaging—hard.

• “The majority of my customers buy and sell large pieces of capital equipment that require debt financing,” President Tom Tredway said. “Their inability to deduct interest makes borrowing more expensive, impacting small manufacturers’ economic health and ability to grow. Policy changes cause ripple effects across every level of the supply chain, and small manufacturers often take the biggest hit.”
• Added Sukup: “This change has been damaging to Sukup’s supply chain, as our partners at all levels often use debt financing for investments, including purchasing our products.”
• BTE Technologies President Chuck Wetherington and NAM Executive Committee Member in Hanover, Maryland, agreed. “Many of our suppliers utilize debt financing to expand their operations and invest in growth, yet their ability to do so is limited by the more-restrictive interest deductibility standard,” he said. “Ultimately, this switch to an EBIT standard weakens the manufacturing supply chain.”

Innovation at stake: Simmons Knife & Saw in Glendale Heights, Illinois, has seen a dramatic increase in its tax bill since pro-growth tax policies began to expire in 2022, including the EBITDA-based interest limitation.

• “We sell to over 100 countries and face competition around the globe,” said President and Owner Colin Murphy. “To remain competitive, we need to continually innovate and consistently invest in new machinery and equipment.”
• He added that the company’s higher tax bill “has led to less investment in equipment, fewer jobs and less innovation.”

The bottom line: “Increasing the cost of debt financing makes it more costly for manufacturers to invest in growth and expansion,” said Sukup. “Policymakers should not impose limitations that inhibit manufacturers’ ability to finance investments.”

• Added Hargens: “I urge Congress to prioritize the future of our working families and our economy by preventing tax increases.”

Manufacturers agree that the U.S. should address the potential national security and privacy risks associated with connected vehicles—those that use technologies to communicate with each other and other systems. But “[n]ational security, privacy and economic strength can be pursued in conjunction with one another,” the NAM told the Commerce Department this week.
 
What’s going on: In September, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security proposed rules to ban connected vehicles that integrate information and communications technology from China and Russia (POLITICO).

• While manufacturers support safeguarding efforts, “[o]ur competitiveness also requires national security challenges to be addressed through proportionate actions … [that] do not unduly hinder” American manufacturing, NAM Managing Vice President of Policy Chris Netram told BIS on Monday.
• The rule’s software prohibitions would go into effect for vehicles model year 2027, while the hardware regulations would take effect for vehicles model year 2030. The NAM is asking BIS to discuss with stakeholders whether they need more time to comply, given the length of the automotive design and development cycles.

What it could do: If finalized, the rule would require automotive manufacturers using Chinese or Russian technology to find new suppliers.
 
The problem: “Automotive supply chains are highly complex, with [information and communications technology and services] embedded in the products of many sub-suppliers who sell to automotive original equipment manufacturers,” Netram continued.

• What’s more, information and communications technology and services “are foundational technologies across the manufacturing ecosystem and wider economy. As such, the rule in its current form could generate unintended consequences both within the automotive industry and across the broader ICTS supply chain, violating the department’s obligation to engage in reasoned decision making and avoid arbitrary and capricious rulemaking.”   

What should happen: The NAM urged BIS to take several actions, including the following:

• Clearer definitions: Certain wording in the rule should be rephrased for clarity, including “Person Owned by, Controlled by or Subject to the Jurisdiction or Direction of a Foreign Adversary” and “Connected Vehicle.”
• Covered software: “[T]he NAM urges BIS to consider revising the proposed rule to ensure it does not require visibility into and control over the software code provided by an OEM’s tier 3 suppliers and beyond.”
• Specific authorizations: “[T]he NAM recommends that BIS issue clear guidance about what criteria the Office of Information and Communications Technology would use to review and approve the risk assessments and the measures proposed by the applicant to mitigate the risks.”
• Attestations of compliance: Allow companies “to attest to their compliance” rather than “document and demonstrate compliance” to safeguard trade secrets.

The final say: With the NAM’s recommended changes, the BIS’s draft rulemaking “will support national security and privacy while ensuring that a vibrant manufacturing industry can continue to innovate and power growth in America for years to come,” Netram concluded.

Manufacturer sentiment fell in the third quarter of this year, according to the NAM’s Q3 2024 Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey, out Wednesday.

What’s going on: Results of the survey, which was conducted Sept. 5–20, reflect “preelection uncertainty,” NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons said—but also larger economic concerns.

• “The good news is that there is something we can do about it,” said Timmons. “We will work with lawmakers from both parties to halt the looming tax increases in 2025; address the risk of higher tariffs; restore balance to regulations; achieve permitting and energy security; and ease labor shortages and supply chain disruptions.”

Key findings: Notable data points from the survey include the following:

• Some 62.9% of respondents reported feeling either somewhat or very positive about their business’s outlook, a decline from 71.9% in Q2.
• A weaker domestic economy was the top business challenge for those surveyed, with 68.4% of respondents citing it.
• Nearly nine out of 10 manufacturers surveyed agreed that Congress should act before the end of 2025 to prevent scheduled tax increases on manufacturers.
• The overwhelming majority—92.3%—said the corporate tax rate should remain at or below 21%, with more than 71% saying a higher rate would have a negative impact on their businesses.
• More than 72% said they support congressional action to lower health care costs through the reform of pharmacy benefit managers.

The last word: “When policymakers take action to create a more competitive business climate for manufacturers, we can sustain America’s manufacturing resurgence—and strengthen our can-do spirit,” Timmons said.

• “This administration and Congress—and the next administration and Congress—should take this to heart, put aside politics, personality and process and focus on the right policies to strengthen the foundation of the American economy.”

The liquefied natural gas export industry has turned the U.S. into a powerhouse of cleaner energy, benefiting its trading partners around the world. The Biden administration’s ongoing ban on new LNG export licenses, however, is throttling an industry that could produce many more billions in revenue and a startling 900,000 jobs by 2044.

The data: A new study from the NAM and PwC shows that the U.S. LNG revolution could extend its upward climb, as shown on the graph above. Today, the industry is a huge source of jobs and profit:

• U.S. LNG exports support 222,450 jobs, resulting in $23.2 billion in labor income.
• The LNG industry contributes $43.8 billion to U.S. GDP.
• And lastly, federal, state and local governments receive $11.0 billion in tax and royalty revenues, thanks to U.S. LNG exports.

But that pales in comparison to the industry’s potential over the next two decades. The study projects the likely growth of the industry through 2044, showing all that is at stake if the ban remains in place until then:

• Between 515,960 and 901,250 jobs, resulting in $59.0 billion to $103.9 billion in labor income, would be at risk.
• The ban would also stifle between $122.5 billion and $215.7 billion in contributions to U.S. GDP during the same period.
• Between $26.9 billion and $47.7 billion in tax and royalty revenues meant to benefit communities across the United States would also be at risk in 2044.

Public opinion: The American public is squarely behind the LNG export industry, showing overwhelming approval in an NAM poll taken in March.

• Eighty-seven percent of respondents agreed the U.S. should continue to export natural gas.
• Seventy-six percent of respondents agreed with building more energy infrastructure, such as port terminals.

The last word: “With LNG exports, we do not have to choose between what’s good for the economy and good for the planet. Today’s research shows the massive opportunity America has when we unleash our economic and energy potential,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons.

• “Building LNG export facilities and expanding natural gas production are not just good for our industry—they also cut emissions and help power manufacturing around the world.”

In high-level meetings with government, manufacturing and trade group leaders held in Mexico last week, the NAM hammered home a key message: For North American manufacturing to remain globally competitive, Mexico must protect investor holdings in the country.
 
What’s going on: During a jam-packed three-day visit to Mexico City, NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons and an NAM contingent met with top officials in the new Sheinbaum administration, as well as leadership at multiple agencies and associations.

• These included newly appointed Deputy Trade Minister Luis Rosendo Gutiérrez, the Business Coordinating Council (CCE), the Confederation of Industrial Chambers of Mexico (CONCAMIN), the Mexico Business Council (CMN), the National Council of the Export Manufacturing Industry (INDEX) and others.   

What they said: The NAM’s main message at each gathering was the same: Companies investing in Mexico need assurance that their portfolios will be protected regardless of the fate of proposed judicial reforms in the country.

• The NAM also underscored the importance of the U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement, which is due for review in 2026, and the necessity of ensuring that the deal is upheld for all three parties.
• If its terms are respected, USMCA could help North American manufacturing outcompete China.

On China: This week, just days after his office’s meeting with the NAM, Gutiérrez announced that the Sheinbaum administration will seek U.S. manufacturers’ help to reshore—mainly from China—the production of some critical technologies (The Wall Street Journal, subscription).

• “We want to focus on supporting our domestic supply chains,” he told the Journal, adding that talks with U.S. companies are still in the informal stage.

​​​​​​​The NAM says:  “Manufacturing is at the heart of the USMCA,” said NAM Vice President of International Policy Andrea Durkin, who was part of the NAM group on the ground in Mexico. “The NAM intends to work to ensure that the agreement strengthens the competitiveness of manufacturers.”
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The EPA’s final rule setting national drinking water standards for PFAS should be vacated in its entirety, the NAM and two allies said in an opening brief filed in federal court Monday.
 
What’s going on: The NAM, the American Chemistry Council and U.S. chemical company Chemours asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to overturn the EPA’s rule, announced in April, which requires that municipal water systems nationwide remove six types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances from drinking water. Trade groups representing the water systems have also sued to overturn the rule.  
 
The grounds: The rule is unlawful and must be set aside for the following reasons:

• ​​​​The EPA used a deeply flawed cost-benefit analysis to justify the rule.
• The EPA conducted a woefully incomplete feasibility analysis that ignores whether the technology and facilities necessary for compliance actually exist.
• Critical parts of the rule exceed the agency’s statutory authority under the Safe Drinking Water Act and flout the act’s express procedural requirements.
• The EPA failed to consider reasonable alternatives or respond meaningfully to public comments that undercut its judgment.
• The agency “lacked sufficient data to regulate” HFPO-DA, one of the PFAS chemicals that falls under the rule.

Why it’s important: PFAS “are substances at the center of modern innovation and sustain many common technologies including semiconductors, telecommunications, defense systems, life-saving therapeutics and renewable energy sources,” according to the brief.

• The NAM and its co-petitioners “support rational regulation of PFAS that allows manufacturers to continue supporting critical industries, while developing new chemistries and minimizing any potential environmental impacts. But that requires a measured and evidence-based approach that the [r]ule lacks.”

What’s next: Briefing in this case will continue through the spring, with oral argument to follow and a decision from the D.C. Circuit expected in late 2025.