Manufacturing Industry is Strategically Important

For as long as I have been writing business articles, American industrial policy has been a topic. Some believe that we don’t have one. In fact, our trade policies, laws and regulations make de facto policy whether it carries a label or not.

I have met with the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Office of Industrial Policy in past years. Sometimes it was staffed by a retired general and other times by a professional policy expert. The office existed because the military needs to know that there is sufficient manufacturing capability in America’s domestic supply chain to support its needs.

Throughout my working years, beginning in 1970, America’s manufacturing industry has been in decline. I worked many of those years in manufacturing industry trying to hang on, and we lost the battle.

In intelligent place to begin to address manufacturing industry needs and policy is by assessing the strategic requirements for domestic production capacity across the entire lifecycle form raw materials to final assembly. Donald Trump and Congressional Leaders are not doing that. Instead, they are flying by the seat of their pants at great risk to national security.

The intention to address manufacturing should begin with a strategic assessment and not driven by pretending to create jobs. An effective policy will result in produce the right kinds of jobs, and they will not carry the profile of what was lost in the past because the world competitive standards have advanced well beyond that.

Read my book: Regenerating America with Sustainable Economics by James A. George and James A. Rodger © 2017 Archway Publishing.

“TRUMP FINDS SUPPORT FOR TARIFFS -- President Donald Trump is finding that his proposal to impose steel and aluminum tariffs has some support on Capitol Hill after all -- from red-state Democrats. "As Republicans howl that new tariffs could cause an economic meltdown, a handful of Rust Belt Democrats are giving the president a rare serving of praise," Elana reports. "His stance could give the trio -- Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, all top GOP targets -- a chance to tout their bipartisan credentials and defend their home-state metals industries all at once."
 The Hill email

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