Tax

Washington, D.C. – Following Senate passage of the tax bill, National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons issued the following statement:

“The Senate just pushed the ball deep into the red zone. Now it’s the House’s turn to finish the drive and deliver a big win for manufacturers in America. The Senate advanced a tax package that will strengthen small businesses, family-owned operations and manufacturing workers across the country. It drives manufacturers closer to the goal line—growing businesses, creating jobs and powering stronger communities.

“After months of driving, months of endurance and effort, months of playing audacious offense and tenacious defense, months of partnership between manufacturers of every industry and our leaders in Congress and the administration, the House now can finish the job. We call on our partners in the House to send this bill to the president’s desk—the strongest tax bill for manufacturers we have seen in a generation. Because when Congress champions the 13 million people who make things in America, manufacturing wins—and when manufacturing wins, America wins.”

Background

A full-team push: Today, more than 300 manufacturing leaders from across the country signed onto a letter urging Congress to act immediately to pass historic tax legislation that will enable manufacturers in America to thrive. Leading up to the vote, manufacturers from across the country joined the NAM in a full-court press on Capitol Hill, including a key meeting with Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender. They delivered one message: get this across the goal line for American jobs. Watch the recap.

Calling the plays: Timmons appeared on Bloomberg’s “Balance of Power” urging passage to give manufacturers the certainty they need to keep building and investing.

-NAM-

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

Congress should pass H.R. 1—the tax bill—immediately, manufacturers told congressional leaders Monday.

What’s going on: The tax package delivers on the promise made by the administration and Congress “to ensure the United States leads the world in manufacturing,” the NAM and more than 300 manufacturing leaders told Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).

• The legislation extends and makes permanent the pro-growth provisions from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which proved to be “rocket fuel” for the manufacturing industry.
• Many of the measures from the TCJA have expired, and others are scheduled to sunset at the end of this year—unless Congress acts.

What it does: H.R. 1 extends key measures from the TCJA “and builds on their success,” the NAM and its allies said. Here’s what the bill does:

• Provides tax certainty for small manufacturers: The bill “permanently extends the 20% pass-through deduction and preserves the TCJA’s individual tax rates, both of which are crucial for the 96% of small manufacturing businesses organized as pass-throughs.” It also protects small family-owned manufacturers from the estate tax.
• Supports investment and innovation: The measure restores immediate research-and-development expensing, full expensing for capital equipment purchases and an EBITDA-based interest deductibility standard.
• Bolsters American competitiveness: The bill makes the FDII, GILTI and BEAT international tax regimes permanent and preserves the 21% corporate rate.
• Incentivizes growth: H.R. 1 creates a new deduction that allows companies to immediately expense the cost of new factories and the cost of improvements to current facilities, among other moves.

The precedent: Manufacturers know the pro-growth tax policies in the legislation will work because they’ve worked before, the NAM and manufacturing leaders told the House and Senate.

• “Following passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, manufacturing in the United States secured the best year in job creation in more than two decades, the best wage growth in 15 years and impressive growth in capital spending, increasing by 4.5% in 2018 and by 5.7% in 2019.”

The cost of inaction: Failure to pass the legislation would result in a nationwide loss of 5.9 million jobs, $540 billion in wages and $1 trillion in GDP, according to a recent NAM study.

Amplifying the NAM message: The message was amplified quickly on social media by key decision makers, including the White House, Speaker Johnson and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN).

The Senate handed manufacturers a victory this week when it passed President Trump’s critical tax legislation. Now it’s time for the House to seal the deal.

What’s going on: “The Senate advanced a tax package that will strengthen small businesses, family-owned operations and manufacturing workers across the country,” NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons said today. “It drives manufacturers closer to the goal line—growing businesses, creating jobs and powering stronger communities.”

• The legislation extends, makes permanent and restores expired measures from the manufacturing-boosting 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
• President Trump has urged Congress to get the bill to his desk by Friday, July 4.

Powerful partnerships: The Senate’s passage of the bill follows months of hard work by manufacturers. Last week, the NAM and nearly 40 manufacturing leaders from across the U.S. flew to Washington for three days of high-level meetings with the White House and Congress, urging passage of the legislation.

• Manufacturers “took to Capitol Hill to make their voices heard on a critical issue: getting the tax bill to the president’s desk,” the NAM wrote in a social post shared by numerous congressional leaders and the White House’s official X account. “Hear from manufacturers on why Congress needs to act now.”

What’s next: “The House now can finish the job,” Timmons continued. “We call on our partners in the House to send this bill to the president’s desk—the strongest tax bill for manufacturers we have seen in a generation. Because when Congress champions the 13 million people who make things in America, manufacturing wins.”

Washington, D.C. – In advance of the Senate vote on passage of the tax bill, NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons issued the following statement:

“This is a manufacturers’ bill—through and through. It reflects the priorities that manufacturers across the country have long championed: policies that drive growth, boost competitiveness, strengthen communities and support good-paying jobs.

“This bill is strong because the partnership behind it is strong. Our nation’s leaders have listened to America’s manufacturers—positioning our industry to lead and succeed like never before. And that means more prosperity for the United States. With enthusiasm for this achievement and gratitude for our advocates in Congress, we call on our partners in the Senate to finish the job.”

-NAM-

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.

For three jam-packed days this week, the NAM and 39 manufacturers from across the U.S. took to Capitol Hill to make their voices heard on a critical issue: getting the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to President Donald Trump’s desk by a July 4 deadline.

What’s going on: Manufacturing leaders from Florida, North Carolina, Texas, Indiana, South Carolina and Minnesota—representing 29 manufacturing businesses—gathered in Washington Monday to emphasize to members of the House, Senate and administration the economic stakes of inaction on the OBBBA.

• At approximately 50 meetings with decision makers on the Hill—including one with Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender—the NAM-led manufacturer contingent pointed repeatedly to  NAM data projecting the loss of 1.1 million manufacturing jobs and $284 billion in output if the OBBBA isn’t passed.
• The NAM-led visit and meetings were covered by POLITICO Pro’s Morning Tax newsletter, among other outlets.

Roundtable: The Treasury Department hosted the group Thursday morning for a roundtable discussion on the scheduled expiration of several important, pro-growth tax provisions.

• Treasury staffers sought firsthand accounts of how the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act—extensions of which are in the OBBBA—helped manufacturers. They also asked for stories illustrating how the sunsetting of the TCJA measures, which began in 2022, has harmed manufacturing businesses.
• NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons thanked the administration for its continued commitment to manufacturing nationwide, adding that the real-world stories from the group and perspectives the members shared during the roundtable would help inform ongoing discussions with both Congress and the White House.

The details: During the roundtable, manufacturers detailed how the TCJA fueled capital investments, hiring, and innovation—momentum that could stall without congressional action.

• Manufacturers pointed to the critical role of provisions, including immediate research-and-development expensing, full expensing for capital equipment purchases and interest deductibility—in driving product development and facility expansion.
• Business owners hammered home the need to make these measures permanent and as beneficial as possible for manufacturers to support long-term planning and continued innovation.

Lifesaving measures: Leadership from a company in the medical technology sector noted that uncertainty in R&D expensing could delay lifesaving advancements.

• Another manufacturer, whose company makes safety equipment, described how the loss of the full expensing provisions would affect safety investments on shop floors.
• Other manufacturers highlighted post-2017 growth in facility buildouts and acquisitions that now hang in the balance thanks to uncertainty surrounding the TCJA provisions’ continuation.

Reinforcing a three-part tax policy agenda: The Treasury event reinforced the NAM’s three-part tax policy agenda, which consists of the following:

• Protecting small business incentives, such as the pass-through deduction and estate tax relief
• Restoring pro-investment provisions, such as R&D expensing and interest deductibility
• Maintaining the competitive 21% corporate tax rate and the TCJA’s international tax regime

Treasury’s take: Deputy Treasury Secretary Faulkender  spoke at length about the roundtable with Bloomberg TV.

• “We had a great conversation with Jay and a number of his members today to understand exactly how factories around this country would be impacted if we do not get this bill over the finish line, and to talk about not just the benefits we saw after the 2017 act, but some of the new provisions that are in this bill, and how it would impact the investments that they make,” Faulkender said. “We know full well failure is not an option.”

In a move the NAM called  “a massive triumph for manufacturing in America,” the Treasury Department on Thursday announced a deal with G-7 allies to exempt American companies from certain taxes imposed by other nations—resulting in Congress and the administration agreeing to remove from the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” a U.S. tax on companies from those countries.

What’s going on: “Today’s deal is a win for manufacturing and a win for America,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons. “Manufacturers have long raised concerns about the overreaching and extraterritorial nature of OECD Pillar 2.”

• Pillar 2 of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development introduces a global minimum 15% corporate tax rate, which it allows other countries to collect if companies’ home nations do not.
• Under the terms of the deal announced Thursday, Pillar 2 taxes will not apply to U.S. companies, paving the way for the elimination of the Section 899 retaliatory tax from Congress’s reconciliation bill.
• The 899 provision would have allowed the U.S. to impose retaliatory taxes on companies from countries with punitive tax policies, including the ones in the OECD regime.

What it will do: The move means manufacturers of all sizes will be relieved of the threat of damaging tax burdens, the NAM said, as domestic businesses will no longer face the threat of Pillar 2 and foreign-headquartered companies will not be impacted by Section 899.

What’s next: “It’s now time for the Senate to vote and for the House to send this bill to President Trump’s desk by July 4,” Timmons said.

Washington, D.C. – National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons issued the following statement thanking President Donald Trump and Secretary Scott Bessent for achieving a monumental deal with G-7 allies that the OECD Pillar 2 taxes will not apply to U.S. companies, laying the groundwork to remove the harmful Section 899 proposal from the pro-manufacturing One Big Beautiful Bill Act:

“In a massive triumph for manufacturing in America, Treasury Secretary Bessent announced a deal to protect both domestic and foreign-headquartered manufacturers investing in the United States from oppressive, job-killing taxes. The NAM—which yesterday brought together manufacturers of all sizes to meet with Deputy Secretary Michael Faulkender to discuss the importance of countering OECD Pillar 2 and preventing the harm of Section 899—congratulates President Trump for this outstanding deal.

“Today’s deal is a win for manufacturing and a win for America. Manufacturers thank Secretary Bessent, Deputy Secretary Faulkender and the Trump administration for reaching this historic deal to shield manufacturers in America from damaging foreign taxes that unfairly stifle job creation in the U.S.

“Manufacturers have long raised concerns about the overreaching and extraterritorial nature of OECD Pillar 2. We greatly appreciate Chairman Jason Smith and Chairman Mike Crapo for their commitment to defending manufacturers in the U.S. from discriminatory foreign taxes. Companies of all sizes across our industry will benefit from the Trump administration removing the threat of these damaging tax burdens.

“Today’s announcement also paves the way for the House and the Senate to lift the threat that Section 899 poses to foreign-headquartered manufacturers’ ability to invest and create jobs in America. Manufacturers have been working with Congress to ensure that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is maximally beneficial for manufacturing investment in America, and today’s announcement is a crucial step in that direction.

“It’s now time for the Senate to vote and for the House to send this bill to President Trump’s desk by July 4.”

-NAM-

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.

For all the alarms that have been sounded about artificial intelligence’s possible contribution to climate change, AI, it turns out, could actually help slash emissions, according to new research (POLITICO Pro, subscription).

What’s going on: “Artificial intelligence could cut global climate pollution by up to 5.4 billion metric tons a year over the next decade if it’s harnessed in ways that would improve transportation, energy and food production.”

• Those cuts “would outweigh even the expected increase in global energy consumption and emissions that would be created by” data centers, according to new research from the Grantham Research Institute that was published in the journal “npj Climate Action.”
• By 2030, data centers are projected to consume twice as much electricity as they do today, according to the International Energy Agency—and the electrical grid is already strained.

The details: The report lays out five areas where AI can be used to slash emissions, including:

• Forecasting supply and demand fluctuations and helping the grid dole out energy more accurately, cutting down on intermittency
• Improving transportation by lowering the cost of electric vehicles via battery improvements

The backdrop: The use of AI has exploded in recent years, and President Trump is making the technology a priority as he aims to outcompete China.

Yes, but … The report urges the governments of developed nations to take an active role in determining how AI is applied and regulated “to make sure the downsides are managed effectively and the full potential of AI for climate action is realized,” the study’s author, Roberta Pierfederici, told POLITICO Pro.

Members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure should vote yes on legislation that would modernize and reform the Clean Water Act permitting process, the NAM said today.

What’s going on: The Promoting Efficient Review for Modern Infrastructure Today (PERMIT) Act “adopts the NAM’s key recommendations to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure for modernization of regulatory authorities under the Clean Water Act—reforms that are critical to manufacturers’ ability to build, expand and hire in America,” NAM Managing Vice President of Policy Charles Crain told the committee ahead of a Wednesday markup of the bill.

• “These include proposals to increase certainty for permittees and clarify the scope of the CWA.”

Why it’s needed: The permitting process for manufacturers under the Clean Water Act is unnecessarily long and onerous, jeopardizing continued American leadership in manufacturing.

• In February, Nucor Corporation Executive Vice President of Sheet Products Noah Hanners told the committee members that “cumbersome and overreaching permitting regulations are holding back progress and hurting our nation’s competitiveness .”

Case in point: In 2022, Nucor announced it had chosen a site in West Virginia for a new steel mill—but the location on the Ohio River required the company to seek federal authorization under the Clean Water Act.

• What followed was a process that “required us to work with multiple federal agencies—with little direction and unclear timelines,” Hanners said. “This led to moving targets for our own planning and execution, delaying the project and increasing costs.”

What should happen: CWA permit reform should be undertaken as part of a broader effort to streamline and speed up the regulatory permitting process writ large.

• “If we want to grow America’s economy, we need to fix this broken system,” Crain concluded.

The NAM is ramping up pressure on policymakers this week, launching a multistate advertising blitz and bringing dozens of manufacturing leaders to Capitol Hill to underscore the urgent need to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act by President Trump’s July 4th deadline.

Why it matters: With time running out, manufacturers are going all-in to urge Congress to preserve 2017 tax reform and make targeted improvements to the bill moving through the Senate that will maximize the pro-growth impact of the OBBBA.

Driving the message: The NAM’s Manufacturing Wins tax campaign’s latest push includes  digital and print ads in major dailies across Washington, D.C., Florida, Maine, Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, Utah, Louisiana and Wisconsin.

• The launch aligns with a two-day fly-in bringing 40 manufacturers from 29 member companies across the country to meet with key lawmakers in the House and Senate and press for action.

The details: Led by the NAM, manufacturers participating in this week’s fly-in are delivering a clear message: Preserve the pro-manufacturing provisions in the House-passed version, while making targeted changes to ensure the final legislation is a pro-manufacturing bill.

The background:Crucial provisions for the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are scheduled to expire at the end of 2025—and the NAM and manufacturers have been counting on Congress to prevent devastating tax increases on manufacturers and manufacturing workers by preserving critical manufacturing priorities from the House-passed bill, while also considering targeted improvements that will maximize the pro-growth impact of the OBBBA.

The NAM says: “Our strategy is clear: to press urgency, emphasize the stakes for manufacturing and rally support at every level. We are doing everything possible to propel this bill over the finish line, including a full-court lobbying push behind the scenes—working closely with key senators to ensure the final legislation is as supportive as possible for manufacturing investment in the United States,” said NAM Executive Vice President Erin Streeter.

What they’re saying: The national ad was picked up by the White House and covered by POLITICO.

• The White House’s rapid response account on X (formerly Twitter) promoted the NAM’s latest ad, quoting key language from the ad.
• The ad launch and fly-in were also featured in POLITICO’s Morning Tax (subscription) and  Inside Congress newsletters.