- 26 February 2007 -
New Round of Manufacturing Hearings Kick-Off

The Democratic takeover of Congress has prompted a new round of hearings related to U.S. manufacturing competitiveness and jobs. While the intense lament over "offshoring" has subsided, new House and Senate committee chairs are exploring a long list of issues that reflect the considerable economic anxiety across the country even as broader economic indicators are improving. 

In recent weeks, hearings were rolled out to focus on everything from the impact of the U.S. trade deficit and the role of labor and environmental standards in U.S. trade agreements to advancing investments in science and technology.

Leading Democrats are also pressing for a more aggressive legislative response to China's currency posture and other policies that many argue are unfair export subsidies that are damaging the U.S. manufacturing economy.  The tone in Congress on trade was best put recently by Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI), who chairs the House Ways & Means Trade Subcommittee.  Levin just kicked off a series of hearings in mid-February on all aspects of U.S.-China trade with the pronouncement that "trade policy is at a new crossroads in our nation." 

The Chairman had reached out to metal finishers and suppliers this past year after accepting an invitation to tour a job shop in Michigan. Then, in his Capitol Hill office during the surface finishing Washington Forum last May, Levin solicited NASF leaders for insight on how to improve competitiveness in the finishing industry and for American manufacturing.