Trade

Last year, leaders of Canada, Mexico, and the United States came together to modernize the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement. The result was the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA – a broad update that was agreed to in November 2018. Yet more than six months later the USMCA is still pending approval in Congress. Comprehensive new state-level data from the National Association of Manufacturers shows the USMCA’s positive impact, and manufacturers are voicing their support for this deal.

“The USMCA is about restoring certainty, improving the rule of law and expanding our partnerships with our most significant trade partners,” Linda Dempsey, NAM vice president of international economic affairs, said. “Not only will its ratification grant manufacturers the certainty they need to continue growing and creating jobs into the future, but it will also expand U.S. manufacturing access to Canada and Mexico and help level the playing field for American workers.”

As manufacturers’ most critical partners, Canada and Mexico purchase one-fifth of the total value of U.S. manufacturing output – more than the next 11 countries combined. These exports support about 2 million American manufacturing jobs and 40,000 small- and medium-sized businesses.

“Passage of this agreement is critical for U.S. manufacturing sector,” said Dempsey. “Canada and Mexico are manufacturers’ most important partners.”

The agreement promises stronger intellectual property rules to protect manufacturing inventions, setting new and improved standards for the digital economy. It expands U.S. manufacturing’s ability to export products abroad, ensuring manufacturers can sell their products duty free and eliminating red tape at the border that often hinders small- and medium-sized businesses seeking to sell their products in both Canada and Mexico. The USMCA also levels the playing field for U.S. manufacturers in critical ways by raising standards, improving transparency and prohibiting anti-U.S. discrimination from foreign governments. The benefits would extend to every state, offering communities across the country opportunities for growth.

With a push for action among policymakers and the public, manufacturers are asking Congress to ratify this agreement that improves trade relationships, strengthens the manufacturing sector and benefits the 12 million employees who work in the manufacturing industry.

“Without movement,” Dempsey said, “American manufacturing workers and communities are at risk.”

Washington, D.C. – National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons released the following statement on the ongoing U.S.–China talks and the implementation of increased U.S. tariffs on Chinese products:

U.S. and Chinese officials must accelerate their efforts to reach a lasting agreement that ends China’s unfair practices, eliminates tariffs and provides real enforcement. These developments should add a greater sense of urgency to the negotiations.

For years, China has refused to play by the rules, harming manufacturers with intellectual property theft and other unfair trade practices. That’s why the NAM was the first business association, in early 2018, to call for a bilateral, enforceable trade agreement to help level the playing field for America’s manufacturing workers.

A trade war will not solve our problems. So we look forward to the United States and China returning to the negotiating table to get this deal done as soon as possible.

The NAM first called for the administration to pursue a bilateral trade agreement with China in a letter from Timmons to President Trump in January 2018. The NAM also testified before the Senate Finance Committee and U.S. Trade Representative on the impact of tariffs and the importance of reaching an enforceable bilateral trade agreement with China. In August 2018, the NAM released a full negotiating objectives framework for an agreement that will address China’s unfair trade practices and level the playing field for manufacturers in the United States.

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The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) 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 more than 12 million men and women, contributes $2.25 trillion to the U.S. economy annually, has the largest economic impact of any major sector and accounts for more than three-quarters 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 Manufacturers or to follow us on Shopfloor, Twitter and Facebook, please visit www.nam.org.

Washington, D.C. – National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons released the following statement after the Senate voted to confirm Export-Import Bank nominees Kimberly Reed, Judith DelZoppo Pryor and Spencer Bachus, a move that will significantly enhance manufacturers’ competitiveness against foreign nations, including China:

Now that the Export-Import Bank is on track to be fully functional again, after a four-year hiatus, manufacturers in America can once more reach their full potential and more aggressively compete against China and others. While the agency was sidelined, billions of dollars’ worth of deals were lost to foreign competitors, resulting in tens of thousands of unrealized manufacturing jobs. Thanks to the leadership of President Trump, Leader McConnell and senators on both sides of the aisle, this self-inflicted damage is now over.

This bipartisan victory will be short-lived, however, if Congress does not act swiftly to reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank before the September deadline. For manufacturers, this is a serious threat looming on the horizon. If Congress fails to reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank, lawmakers will be responsible for slowing manufacturing’s growth and handing countries like China a competitive edge. Now is not the time to squander the historic progress we’ve made in recent years.

The NAM has been a leading proponent of restoring the Ex-Im Bank, which has supported 1.7 million American jobs over the past 10 years, to full functionality. In January, Timmons sent a letter to Senate leaders urging them to approve swiftly the full slate of stalled, qualified nominees to the Ex-Im Bank’s board of directors following their bipartisan approval by the Senate Banking Committee.

Quick facts about the Ex-Im Bank:

• The agency has supported 1.7 million jobs over the past 10 years.
• On average, more than 90 percent of the Ex-Im Bank’s transactions directly support small businesses.
• The agency has generated $9.6 billion for taxpayers since 1992.
• Foreign competitors are stealing America’s competitive advantage by devoting hundreds of billions of dollars to official export credit agency financing for domestic manufacturers.
• The agency’s default rate is better than many commercial lenders and far below the 2 percent maximum rate set by Congress.

Click here to learn more about how the Ex-Im board vacancies impacted manufacturers and here for more information about its role as a critical tool in checking China’s ambitions.

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The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) 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 more than 12 million men and women, contributes $2.25 trillion to the U.S. economy annually, has the largest economic impact of any major sector and accounts for more than three-quarters 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 Manufacturers or to follow us on Shopfloor, Twitter and Facebook, please visit www.nam.org.

Washington, D.C. – The National Association of Manufacturers announced in a letter to members of the U.S. Senate today that it will key-vote Senate confirmation of Export-Import Bank nominees Kimberly Reed, Judith DelZoppo Pryor and Spencer Bachus:

The Ex-Im Bank has been hobbled for more than four years now, unable to consider any major U.S. sales greater than $10 million and unable to implement the reforms still outstanding from the 2015 Ex-Im Bank reauthorization, wrote NAM Senior Vice President of Policy and Government Relations Aric Newhouse. Manufacturers in America have lost approximately $119 billion in output as a result, translating into 80,000 fewer American manufacturing jobs in 2016 and 2017. At the same time, nearly 100 foreign export credit agencies supported by countries from China and Russia to Brazil and Germany have been growing to promote exports on behalf of their industries and workers. The Senate must act to reverse this loss and restore the Ex-Im Bank to full operation by confirming Reed, Bachus and Pryor to the Ex-Im Bank Board.

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The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) 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 more than 12 million men and women, contributes $2.25 trillion to the U.S. economy annually, has the largest economic impact of any major sector and accounts for more than three-quarters 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 Manufacturers or to follow us on Shopfloor, Twitter and Facebook, please visit www.nam.org.

Washington, D.C. – National Association of Manufacturers Vice President of International Economic Affairs, Linda Dempsey, released the following statement on the International Trade Commission’s report on the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement:

The USMCA is a win for manufacturers. This agreement will level the playing field for manufacturers in the United States and support the 2 million American manufacturing jobs that depend on our exports to Canada and Mexico. That’s why the USMCA is our top trade priority, and we urge Congress to approve it as soon as possible.

Background

For manufacturers, the USMCA:

• Includes best-in-class intellectual property rules.
• Sets new standards for the 21st-century digital economy.
• Ensures manufacturers can sell their products duty-free.
• Eliminates red tape at the border.
• Raises standards, improves transparency and prohibits anti-U.S. discrimination and anti-competitive activity.
• Provides the same binding enforcement for all obligations.

Click here to learn more about why this agreement is a essential to manufacturing and manufacturing workers in the United States.

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The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) 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 more than 12 million men and women, contributes $2.25 trillion to the U.S. economy annually, has the largest economic impact of any major sector and accounts for more than three-quarters 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 Manufacturers or to follow us on Shopfloor, Twitter and Facebook, please visit www.nam.org.

Washington, D.C. – National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons delivered the fifth-annual NAM State of Manufacturing 2019 Address today at Lone Star College – North Harris in Houston, Texas. Timmons addressed Lone Star students, veterans, business leaders and local manufacturers and highlighted the industry’s optimism for the future, manufacturing’s high-tech, innovative nature and the urgent need to recruit the next generation of manufacturers. He also touched on top policy priorities for manufacturers.

Manufacturing is an engine of job creation. It is the source of America’s strength. And what is the state of modern manufacturing in America? Today, manufacturing in America is on the rise. Tax reform was the rocket fuel it was promised to be, and it’s helping us to climb higher and faster than almost anyone thought possible in this century, said Timmons.

Today, people in manufacturing are using technologies that most Americans couldn’t have imagined a few years ago—artificial intelligence, augmented reality. We don’t just have robots; we have ‘co-bots,’ machines that work in tandem with you. And you have manufacturers trying to figure out how quantum computing could revolutionize logistics.

Timmons highlighted the strength of manufacturing in Texas and the job opportunities available to students. He also emphasized the policy solutions that manufacturers want to see from lawmakers—with a focus on a U.S.–China trade deal, approval of the U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement, infrastructure investment and meaningful immigration reform. Timmons touted “A Way Forward,” the NAM’s recently released plan for a comprehensive, legislative immigration solution.

To read the full the address, click here.

Technology has transformed our industry. It’s created incredible opportunities. And as we journey further into this new frontier, we want you to be a part of it, Timmons concluded.

Following the address, Timmons toured Lone Star College’s energy, manufacturing and construction workforce program labs, where he met students and talked with them about their trade skill education.

Carolyn Lee, executive director of The Manufacturing Institute, the NAM’s education and workforce partner, continued the tour in Houston at the Microsoft Technology Center with a Heroes MAKE America class from Fort Hood. Heroes MAKE America is The Manufacturing Institute’s career skills program that aims to support transitioning service members with in-demand qualifications and industry-specific certifications needed for today’s manufacturing workforce.

One of our missions here at Lone Star College-North Harris to ensure our students are prepared for the workforce and the promising opportunities in the manufacturing sector, said Dr. Gerald Fernandez Napoles, president of Lone Star College – North Harris. We’re proud to welcome the National Association of Manufacturers and to help tell the story of the rewarding opportunities in manufacturing. Our energy, manufacturing and construction workforce programs are empowering Texans every day to build meaningful careers.

Lee and the Heroes class also toured BP’s Upstream Learning Center with American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Mike Sommers, where they spoke to BP employees about the NAM’s Heroes MAKE America program. Lee ended the day at Bimbo Bakeries for a facility tour.

Manufacturing is vital to the strong Texas economy, said Jeff Moseley, president and CEO of the Texas Association of Business. Today’s event captured the diversity of Texas manufacturers and the ways our technology is transforming the industry and the industry is transforming lives for the better. Modern manufacturing creates good jobs, drives investment and exports and contributes enormously to our local economies. In fact, the Texas manufacturing industry employs around 896,000 Texans and contributes about $226 billion to our state economy. We need to ensure this industry has the tools, and workforce, to continue leading Texas forward.

For the past five years, the annual NAM State of Manufacturing Tour has focused the nation’s attention on the industry that is the backbone of the American economy, highlighting the more than 12.8 million men and women who are building our future and solving tomorrow’s challenges today. The tour has traveled the country, bringing policy discussions and conversations about the future of work in the manufacturing industry to shop floors, schools, economic clubs, television studios, the White House and more.

This year’s tour will spotlight the industry’s next frontier, while also focusing on manufacturing’s well-paying careers, the industry’s diverse workforce and the policy solutions that are essential for manufacturing’s continued growth.

Members of the media interested in covering the tour should contact [email protected]. To learn more about the NAM State of Manufacturing Tour 2019, click here.

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The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) 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 more than 12 million men and women, contributes $2.25 trillion to the U.S. economy annually, has the largest economic impact of any major sector and accounts for more than three-quarters 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 Manufacturers or to follow us on Shopfloor, Twitter and Facebook, please visit www.nam.org.

Washington, D.C. – National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) President and CEO Jay Timmons released the following statement on the signing of the U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA):

The signing of the USMCA is a landmark milestone for American manufacturing workers. Manufacturers called for a trilateral agreement, and this moves us one step closer to restoring certainty to the North American market, the biggest market for U.S. exports in the world. By securing the relationship with our North American allies, we are also better positioned to demonstrate a strong and united front against China’s unfair trade practices and end the harm they inflict on manufacturers in America.

Manufacturers need certainty now, not later. With 2 million American jobs dependent on exports to Canada and Mexico, Congress should move expeditiously to review the USMCA before the end of this year. We look forward to working with the administration and Congress to ensure the USMCA is implemented and enforced in a way that empowers manufacturers in America to continue investing in our people and our communities.”

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The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) 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 more than 12 million men and women, contributes $2.25 trillion to the U.S. economy annually, has the largest economic impact of any major sector and accounts for more than three-quarters 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 Manufacturers or to follow us on Shopfloor, Twitter and Facebook, please visit www.nam.org.

Washington, D.C. – National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) President and CEO Jay Timmons released the following statement on the White House’s announcement regarding the Universal Postal Union:

President Trump deserves tremendous credit for the administration’s focus on eliminating the anti-US manufacturer subsidy China receives from the U.S. Postal Service, said Timmons. This outdated arrangement contributes significantly to the flood of counterfeit goods and dangerous drugs that enter the country from China. Manufacturers and manufacturing workers in the United States will greatly benefit from a modernized and far more fair arrangement with China.

In April, Timmons sent a letter to Secretary Mnuchin outlining manufacturers’ concerns with the Universal Postal Union system, which allows China to receive a subsidy from the U.S. Postal Service for certain inbound shipments. The U.S. Postal Service lost an estimated $170 million on this subsidy during the last fiscal year, and that number is expected to increase 40 percent annually due to the rapid growth of e-commerce. Read Timmons’ recent op-ed for The Hill on the topic here.

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The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) 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 more than 12 million men and women, contributes $2.25 trillion to the U.S. economy annually, has the largest economic impact of any major sector and accounts for more than three-quarters 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 Manufacturers or to follow us on Shopfloor, Twitter and Facebook, please visit www.nam.org.