The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) has praised the Obama Administration for its focus on revitalizing American manufacturing as outlined in a new report issued Wednesday, "A Framework for Revitalizing American Manufacturing."
"The Administration's focus on revitalizing America's manufacturing sector in order to create much needed jobs here in the US is welcomed by the steel industry," said Thomas J. Gibson, president and CEO of AISI. "As the report states, the domestic steel industry contributes $350 billion annually to the economy and directly employs over 165,000 people, supporting 1.2 million jobs. The steel industry, with its technology advancements and productivity improvements, is already a part of this revitalization of American manufacturing."
Gibson said the report also recognizes that "the steel and auto industries have traditionally been the backbone of the American manufacturing sector. While both industries are in difficult and sometimes painful transition periods, new advances provide hope for a strong and vibrant future."
"We welcome in particular the Administration's focus in the report on enforcing our laws against unfair trade, investing in transportation infrastructure and encouraging legal, tax and regulatory regimes that support manufacturing," Gibson said. "We believe these are critical areas where Federal government policies have a direct impact on preserving and growing jobs in manufacturing. We urge the Administration to continue to aggressively enforce our laws against injurious dumping and foreign government subsidies to prevent further losses of manufacturing jobs."
Gibson went on to say that AISI urges the Administration and Congress to pass a new multi-year surface transportation infrastructure bill. "New investment in highways and bridges is essential to our nation's competitiveness and will provide a much need stimulus to demand for steel and other construction materials. This is particularly important in that every direct job in the steel industry generates seven jobs in other sectors of the economy," Gibson said.
Finally, Gibson said AISI also supports actions by the Administration to help reduce the burdens on American manufacturers of rising healthcare, energy, litigation and regulatory costs, and to limit increases in federal and state taxes.