American manufacturers are confident that President Donald Trump and the new Congress can lead a modern revival of sorts, as long as leadership in Washington focuses on tax and regulatory reform and invests in infrastructure.
Jay Timmons, President and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), is confident that Trump can deliver on his promise to bring back millions of good paying manufacturing jobs back to the United States.
“This President has really focused his attention on creating manufacturing jobs right here in the United States,” Timmons said in an interview with The Daily Caller News Foundation (TheDCNF). “We also have a Congress that seems ready to act on these priorities,” he continued.
Manufacturers are calling on the Trump administration and the new Congress to take action on policies that will stimulate new manufacturing opportunities domestically. “Comprehensive tax reform, regulatory reform and infrastructure investment are top priorities,” Timmons told TheDCNF.
NAM kicked off its “2017 State of Manufacturing Tour” in Austin, Texas Wednesday at the Emerson Innovation Center. The event was the first of a series of stops across six states over the next two weeks, including stops in Texas, New York, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
“Today, we have a chance to work together and redefine how our country sees and supports manufacturing,” said NAM Chairman of the Board David Farr. “We can rekindle a feeling of achievement among our people and reignite the power manufacturing has to improve our world. That’s what this tour is all about.”
Farr is meeting at the White House Thursday, where the president is hosting U.S. manufacturers for a listening session.
Manufacturing contributes an estimated $2.17 trillion to the U.S. economy and supports 12.3 million American jobs, which is about 9 percent of the nation’s workforce, according to NAM. The tour is intended to “showcase modern manufacturing and lay out solutions that will create more jobs, seize global leadership and expand the circle of opportunity.”
“Our goal is to amplify the environment that is focused on growing the economy and we want to showcase for students and their parents, what a job in modern manufacturing is all about,” Timmons told TheDCNF.
“We are visiting a lot of facilities that are taking advantage of new technologies and robotics. We are showcasing those facilities and talking to students specifically,” Timmons explained.
Timmons was a member of the Trump leadership council, and met the president in New York at Trump Tower. “If we reduce the cost of doing business in the U.S., you will see more investment and jobs right here,” he said, pushing back against the notion that the United States cannot compete with foreign competitors who pay their workers drastically lower wages.
The tour continues in New York Thursday, before a stop in Detroit Friday, where Timmons will speak to the Detroit Economic Club and visit a community college to discuss modern manufacturing opportunities with students.
Send Tips to ted@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
