The Crisis in Manufacturing
Trade and industrial revitalization.
Poor trade, dollar and tax policies, combined with the health care crisis in the U.S., have put American manufacturing workers at a competitive disadvantage in the global economy. We need measures that rectify these failed policies and return American manufacturing capacity to its former levels. This requires "highroad" industrial development policies—increased access to capital investment, technical assistance and workforce training incentives—that modernize and expand the nation’s manufacturing industries, while preserving and creating good manufacturing jobs. Key measures include:
- Fair trade policies that reduce the U.S. trade deficit, enforce existing U.S. trade laws and require inclusion of enforceable workers’ rights and environmental standards in trade agreements.
- Revised tax laws that eliminate incentives for corporations to move production overseas and punish those that do; opposition to reform of the Foreign Sales Corporation (FSC) tax that would encourage shifting manufacturing jobs overseas; replacing FSC with tax incentives that help American manufacturers create U.S. jobs and help companies cope with retiree health care and pension costs.
We need strong legislation that penalizes companies that incorporate overseas to avoid taxes, including denying government contracts to these companies. Legislation that would strengthen the manufacturing base for national defense and homeland security through procurement reform, enhanced "Buy American" requirements, an updated assessment of critical defense manufacturing capabilities and limits to "offsets" that drain critical technology and good jobs.
