
It is, on the surface, incredibly promising. Manufacturing, for years seen as an economic artifact by our country’s political leaders, is once again viewed as not just a necessary sector, but a vital one.
Perhaps it’s the aftereffects of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the economic interruption and on-again, off-again shutdowns contributed to a massive, global supply chain nightmare, limiting access to many products essential to our daily lives. Or, possibly it’s the recognition that the United States’ leading foreign competitor is not waging war on the battlefield, but on the economic front. Or the outbreak of war in Europe has convinced lawmakers the global marketplace may not be as reliable as once thought.
Whatever the impetus, the understanding by leaders in the U.S. (as well as Canada and Mexico) is a positive development. That the recognition is coming from both sides of the political aisle, as described Omar Nashashibi at last month’s FMA Annual Meeting is even more encouraging.
However, as noted by Nashashibi, there is a long way to go between enthusiasm and action in D.C.
For starters, there is the question of how to enact the desired policies. Republicans and Democrats may agree on the broader question of manufacturing’s value, but consensus is much more difficult to come to on the finer points.
More demoralizing, the extreme nature of partisanship in the Beltway makes agreements difficult to find even when the sides might be otherwise aligned. The unwillingness for one side to yield “credit” for an achievement, particularly during the never-ending election cycles that dominate U.S. politics, can bulldoze otherwise common ground.
Finally, there’s the Byzantine structure of Congress, where seemingly straightforward bills are never that. One piece of legislation might be amended, or tied to another unrelated piece of legislation or left to rot in a committee by a single vindictive Congress creature, all of which keeps the people’s representatives from doing the people’s work.
In fact, Nashashibi’s appearances at the last two FMA events highlight the bizarre ways Washington works. In 2022, the lobbyist assured attendees that Congress would never allow the research and development tax credits that were part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to expire, particularly as neither side of the divide was theoretically opposed to incentivizing R&D. Yet, one year later and there has still been no movement on extending the credits, putting many manufacturing companies in a state of flux.
Yes, it’s undoubtedly a start that America’s elected officials are now aware of the important role manufacturing plays, and will continue to play, in securing our economic freedom.
But that’s all it is. And operators of businesses in the manufacturing space, including service centers, must continue to apply pressure on all of our legislators to remind them of that.