Today several news outlets reported that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has sent the final Boiler MACT regulations over to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for final review. It’s expected that OMB will finish the review in the next few weeks, and the EPA will issue the regulations in the next month or so.

The Boiler MACT regulation will only add to the already cumbersome regulatory burden facing manufacturers of all sizes. These regulations will hurt our ability to compete and stifle job creation. The Council for Industrial Boiler Owners estimates the regs will cost more than $14 billion to implement.

The NAM has been urging the EPA to extend the compliance time for implementation and we hope that EPA will make these changes in the final rule. Manufacturers plan years in advance and the changes that these Boiler MACT regulations call for will require significant time for implementation.

Earlier this week the Wall Street Journal’s Mary Anastasia O’Grady penned an editorial about the current state Chevron’s fight against the corrupt judgment brought against it by an Ecuadorian court in February of last year. Chevron has been waging a battle to prove that the judgment in the case is the result of corruption and the evidence continues to mount.

On May 4^th Chevron asked the U.S. federal court in Miami for records of several bank accounts with Banco Pichincha in Ecuador. It’s believed that these Bank records will show that one of the court-appointed independent experts, a geological engineer, was bribed by the plaintiff’s lawyers:

One of Chevron’s allegations is that geological engineer Richard Cabrera, the court-appointed “independent” expert who would assess the rain forest damage, was working secretly for the plaintiffs lawyers. It cites outtakes from the ADC film “Crude” that show the two sides meeting together before his appointment and documents secured through discovery in U.S. courts to support that allegation. Chevron also claims that documents prepared by the plaintiff’s lawyers became part of the Ecuadorean court’s judgment, which it says casts doubt on the court’s neutrality.

Chevron has continued to go to court in the U.S., now more than 20 times to show that fraud was committed in the case and in nine instances U.S. courts have been critical of the Ecuadorean Court proceedings. From the WSJ:

In one instance, addressing Chevron’s claim that the plaintiffs’ representatives “ghostwrote” Mr. Cabrera’s report, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina observed that “While this court is unfamiliar with the practices of the Ecuadorian judicial system, the court must believe that the concept of fraud is universal, and that what has blatantly occurred in this matter would in fact be considered fraud by any court. If such conduct does not amount to fraud in a particular country, then that country has larger problems than an oil spill.”

Chevron is continuing to move forward with their RICO suit in the NY Southern District Court against Amazon Defense Coalition, one of the nongovernmental organizations advocating for the plaintiffs in the suit. And it’s becoming more and more clear that this judgment was arrived at with fraud and corruption.

Last week the President’s “E” Awards and “E Start” Awards for Exports were presented to Exporters at a White House ceremony. The awards are presented to person and firms that contribute significantly in the effort to increase U.S. exports as well as recognizing noteworthy export promotion efforts.

Several manufacturers won the President’s “E” Award for Exports including Bio-Microbics, Inc. and Gold Eagle Co. Also, several received the President’s “E Star” Award for Exports which included Zippo Manufacturing Company, French Oil Mill Machinery Co., Kingsbury, Inc. and Rust-Oleum Corporation. We congratulate all of these manufacturers on their efforts to export and to promote exports.

Growing exports is essential to job creation and manufacturing in the U.S. With 95 percent of the world’s consumers living outside of our borders its imperative we continue to undertake efforts to export more U.S. manufactured goods.

The reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank is a good first step as the Bank helps thousands of small and medium-sized manufacturers reach new markets. But we need to do more. We need more trade agreements as well as Congress needs to pass PNTR for Russia. Manufacturers are looking to Washington to help level the playing field for them to compete globally.

Today Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner will tour NAM member company Marlin Steel Wire in Baltimore and meet with NAM Board Member and President Drew Greenblatt. The Secretary Geithner is expected to discuss President’s “to do list” for Congress which includes his proposed new hire tax credit.

Before touring Marlin Steel Secretary Geithner addressed the Greater Baltimore Committee where he talked about the need for spending cuts and other measures to help the economy.

Manufacturing continues to receive a lot of attention and deservedly so as the sector has been the engine behind our economic recovery creating 481,000 jobs since January 2010. But manufacturers are looking to policy makers like Secretary Geithner to help implement policies which will enable them to continue to grow. Our blueprint to keep manufacturing competitive, A Manufacturing Renaissance: Four Goals for Economic Growth, lays out key policies that Congress and the Administration can enact to keep manufacturing in the United States strong.

Today the House Small Business Committee held a hearing titled “U.S. Trade Strategy: What’s Next for Small Business Exporters?” The first panel of the hearing included testimony from Deputy USTR Miriam Sapiro discussing the status of current trade negotiations and the overall strategy to help small businesses reach new markets.

Also testifying at the hearing was Thermcraft, Inc. President Thomas Crafton from Winston Salem, North Carolina. Mr. Crafton was there to share with the members of the committee some recommendations to help increase exports to create manufacturing jobs.

Thermcraft, Inc. President Thomas Crafton testifies before the House Small Business Committee.

Mr. Crafton discussed during his testimony the obstacles that Thermcraft still faces when exporting, such as obtaining consistent and reliable information and help from federal government representatives stationed overseas:

On the flipside, we have export issues that arise on a daily basis and continue to be an ongoing struggle. For example, it can be difficult to get consistent and reliable information and help from the local representatives stationed abroad. Commercial Officers seem to see only the big picture and often fail to address the details and help small businesses through the ongoing process of exporting. Regulatory changes are constant, and the burden lies on us to keep up with those changes and decide on classifications for specific products. There is a lack of a single source for info regarding export embargoes. They are listed across multiple websites that take countless hours to research, and it is difficult to know if all requirements have been addressed.

He also mentioned the importance of fee trade agreements and the need to continue to reach new markets for manufacturers as well as the opportunities the Russian market presents: (continue reading…)

Today the Senate is expected to consider H.R. 2072 to reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank along with several amendments. The NAM has sent a Key Vote letter to senators urging support for the Bank which is so critical to small and medium-sized manufacturers.

Below is an excerpt from the Key Vote letter:

The Ex-Im Bank levels the playing field for U.S. exporters by matching credit support other nations provide, ensuring that our nation’s manufacturers can compete based upon the price and performance features of their products. It also enables small and medium-sized manufacturers to capture new markets in emerging economies abroad. In FY2011, the Bank supported more than $41 billion in export sales from more than 3,600 companies, supporting approximately 290,000 export-related American jobs.

Manufacturers are urging all senators to support H.R. 2072 to reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank and to increase its lending authority.

This morning NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons spoke at a breakfast discussion hosted by GE and the Greater Houston Partnership titled “Houston Works: How Energy and Manufacturing Innovation is Leading the Way.” More than 150 people attended the event which brought together city and business leaders as well as elected officials to talk about the important role of Houston’s energy and manufacturing sectors to America’s competitiveness.

In his remarks Timmons spoke about the impact of manufacturing on the economy and what is needed to strengthen manufacturing so it can continue to drive our economy and innovation:

To reach our potential, manufacturers need policymakers to address each of these issues so that manufacturers both in this country and abroad invest in the United States. A bold, pro-growth agenda will send a powerful message to the world that the U.S. is serious about maintaining its mantle of economic leadership.

Timmons also discussed the importance of affordable energy to manufacturers:

Reliable and affordable energy is particularly important for manufacturers, which use one-third of the energy produced in the United States. Access to energy can be a selling point for the United States, but we have to utilize the abundant resources we have at our disposal and ensure that regulations don’t raise the cost of energy to uncompetitive levels. All sources of energy should be on the table. The “all-of-the-above” energy strategy our country’s leaders keep talking about should be just that: all-of-the-above.

President and CEO of GE Energy John Krenicki delivered the Keynote address at the breakfast today. Today’s discussion was a great way to get together local leaders and business leaders to discuss the future of manufacturing. The energy sector is incredibly vital manufacturing and it’s important to continue to have forums such as this to educate leaders at all levels of the need for pro-growth and pro-energy policies that will create jobs. Timmons also spoke at the GE forum held in February in Washington on the competitiveness of manufacturing.

The NAM’s Manufacturing Renaisannce: Four Goals for Economic Growth highlights the policies needed to keep manufacturing competitive. One of the goals outlined is an “all of the above” energy strategy that will help increase energy production to help manufacturers gain access to affordable energy. It’s imperative to job creation and manufacturing that we continue to pursue a real “all of the above” energy approach.

A Boeing 787 Dreamliner touched down today at Ronald Reagan National Airport. The aircraft is in town for the Atlantic’s Innovation Summit that is being held this week at the airport.

Boeing's 787 Dreamliner arrives at Reagan National Airport

The Dreamliner is the most advanced and efficient commercial jetliner ever produced. It is a great example of the innovations of modern manufacturing.

The aerospace industry continues to be essential to manufacturing  in the United States. Which is why its important for Washington to provide manufacturers with the tools necessary to compete globally so they can continue to innovate and create new products that can change the world, such as the Dreamliner.

This week the House is expected to vote on the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank. Late last week Majority Leader Cantor and Minority Whip Hoyer came to an agreement on a deal that will extend the Bank’s lending limit to $140 billion through 2014.

This is great news for manufactures and we are urging all members of the House to support this commone sense reauthorization that will support jobs and exports. Today, NAM Senior Vice President for Policy and Government Relations sent a Key Vote letter to members of the House urging support.

From the letter:

The Ex-Im Bank levels the playing field for U.S. exporters by matching credit support other nations provide, ensuring that our nation’s manufacturers can compete based upon the price and performance features of their products. It also enables small and medium-sized manufacturers to capture new markets in emerging economies abroad. In FY2011, the Bank supported more than $41 billion in export sales from more than 3,600 companies, supporting approximately 290,000 export-related American jobs.

Denying Ex-Im reauthorization will hurt manufacturers of every size and threaten thousands of U.S. manufacturing jobs. Small and medium-sized companies are particularly vulnerable – both those that receive direct Ex-Im Bank support as well as those that supply larger companies.

It’s an uneasy feeling when your worst suspicisions are confirmed. That’s exactly what happen when a video of EPA Administrator Al Armendariz in the Region 6 Dallas office surfaced. Alarmingly, EPA’s Armendariz uses a rather crude analogy of how his staff should approach enforcement on energy producers by comparing it to Romans crucifying Turkish villagers.

“It was kind of like how the Romans used to, you know, conquer villages in the Mediterranean,” he said. “They’d go in to a little Turkish town somewhere, they’d find the first five guys they saw, and they’d crucify them.” 

Manufacturers and energy producers are already facing a litany of overreaching regulations from the EPA which are making it tougher to create jobs and grow. It’s concerning that an EPA official in charge of enforcement would make such a comment about the treatment of job creators. An adversarial approach to enforcement is not going to help our energy security. The aggressive targeting to specific energy producers does not get us closer to a true “all of the above” approach to energy.

Sen. Inhofe has already stated that he is going to begin an investigation into the EPA. Armendariz issued a statement apologizing for his poor choice of words. However, the EPA continues to move forward with harmful regulations which will increase energy prices for manufacturers.