NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons highlighted the NAM’s A Manufacturing Renaissance: Four Goals for Economic Growth today during a panel discussion at GE’s forum on American Competitiveness with Senator Rob Portman, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper and Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer.  Bruce Katz of the Brookings Institute moderated the panel.

NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons speaks during a panel discussion on “Recharging American Manufacturing.” The panel was part of a four-day event on American competitiveness hosted by General Electric.

Timmons noted during the discussion, it is 20 percent more expensive to manufacture in the United States than it does among our major trading partners.  To reduce this cost differential, policymakers should adopt policies that make the U.S.  more competitive. The U.S., for example, will have the highest corporate tax rate in the developed world as of April 1. Senator Portman discussed some of his ideas for moving corporate tax reform forward.

All the panelists agreed about the importance of building a strong and skilled workforce that meets the needs of modern manufacturers.  There are a number of initiatives, such as the Manufacturing Institute’s Dream It. Do it. Program, that are aimed at attracting young people to the manufacturing workforce.

The four-day event hosted by GE in Washington, DC, was kicked off this morning by GE CEO Jeff Immelt who then joined a panel discussion with Boeing CEO Jim McNerney and Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris.

Manufacturing is a hot topic in around the country – as evidenced by some of the Super Bowl ads that aired last night – and Washington is no exception.  Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade held a jobs and innovation forum entitled, “Making it Easier to Make it in America,” bringing together representatives of American companies, including Intel, with members of Congress to discuss opportunities for strengthening the manufacturing sector.

Jay Timmons addresses the members of Congress on the need for a manufacturing renaissance at a forum held by the Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans

Jay Timmons, the NAM’s President, was an invited guest and he took the opportunity to share the current state of manufacturing – detailing the challenges facing manufacturers as well as their successes.

Jay weighed in on each of the forum’s wide array of topics, including taxes, trade, and the critical need for Washington to develop a coherent “all-of-the-above” energy policy, saying that, “Energy costs are, outside of labor, the number one cost of running a manufacturing business.”

Bill Holt, General Manager of Intel’s Technology and Manufacturing Group, raised the issue of the extremely high U.S. corporate tax rate – a rate that, as of April 1^st, will be the highest of any industrialized country.

“Our tax rate is 29% – higher than all of our foreign competitors. That really puts us at a disadvantage.”  

Today’s discussion was a good opportunity to talk with policy makers about what is needed to truly have a Manufacturing Renaissance. As Jay noted, manufacturers need each aspect of the NAM roadmap put into action – the sooner the better.

Caterpillar C.E.O. Doug Oberhelman appeared on Fox News’ “Your World with Neil Cavuto” to talk about how to best advance manufacturing in the U.S.

On the heels of President Obama’s State of the Union address during which he focused on the importance of manufacturing, it is powerful to hear directly from a manufacturer who strives every day to compete in the global marketplace.

At the conclusion of his appearance with Cavuto, Oberhelman summarized on what is needed for a true manufacturing renaissance:

“We need stimulus around manufacturing, we need tax reform, and we need education reform, and we can go on and on and on. As Vice Chair of the National Association of Manufacturers, there is a really refined list of what we need to do if we want to be competitive in this country. It is a prescription that is not that hard to follow and is pretty common sense, actually.”

Yesterday NAM Board Member and Kennametal President and CEO Carlos Cardoso was appointed co-chair by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett (R-PA) of a new public-private council to help identify and prioritize the top issues to help keep manufacturing competitive in Pennsylvania.

From Gov. Corbett’s press release:

“Manufacturing adds more than $75 billion in value each year to our state’s economy, and it is paramount that we do all that we can to preserve and support that sector of our economy,” Gov. Corbett said. “The council will research issues and make recommendations that will further strengthen that industry and ultimately allow manufacturers to add jobs for Pennsylvanians.”

According the release the council will focus on taxes, the regulatory climate in Pennsylvania, talent and innovation, international markets, energy costs, efficiency, and research and development. The council will hold several meetings beginning in January and then issue a report to the governor and General Assembly including policy suggestions and a strategy for manufacturing in Pennsylvania to remain competitive.

Just today the third quarter GDP was revised down to only 2 percent growth. Manufacturers are in need of pro-growth policies which will enable them to compete against growing global competition. The National Association of Manufacturers has laid out a blueprint of policies to keep manufacturing in the U.S. competitive titled A Manufacturing Renaissance: Four Goals for Economic Growth.