51�Թ���

Excerpts from Remarks Prepared for Delivery for 51�Թ��� President and CEO Jay Timmons
51�Թ��� Board of Directors Meeting, Naples, Florida

…There’s a new reality in Washington and in America. You could go as far to call it a “new world order.”

And a new reality requires a new strategy. That’s what I want to lay out for you today: a plan for success. You could call this plan Make America Great for Manufacturing Again.

Leading up to the inauguration and in the past month since, I have heard from so many of you.

To be honest, it’s been quite divergent. Some of you are thrilled. Some of you are reserved. Some of you are downright panicked.

I know that you’re putting investment decisions on hold because you don’t have the confidence yet that those 2017 tax reforms the 51�Թ��� shaped will be renewed.

I’ve heard your frustration about the regulatory onslaught that rained down…and your questions about how fast can we really move to make changes in a way that won’t get delayed by litigation?

I’ve heard your concerns about the workforce. Will we get the immigration policy that we deserve—and the support for the workforce programs that we need?

I know that you’re anxious for permitting reforms—so that paperwork and red tape aren’t slowing you down even more.

And, I can tell you, on the weekend of February 1 when the 25% tariffs were announced on Canada and Mexico, I took more calls, answered more emails than I ever have in this job.

Tariffs… tariffs are, simply put, part of our new reality. The President has made it very clear he will impose them.

So what does that mean for us?

I’d suggest that our message—our unified message—needs to be this: there must be a commonsense, coordinated and comprehensive manufacturing strategy from our elected and appointed officials. … one that aims to reduce the cost of doing business in America and incentivizes investment, job creation, wage growth and production here at home. I want to repeat: a comprehensive manufacturing strategy.

We all know we are a capital-intensive industry. We plan months, years, decades in advance. Uncertainty is the silent killer of manufacturing investment.

Since tariffs are on the table, … tax reform, permitting reform, and more, simply cannot be delayed.

And I’ll go a step further: those objectives need to be even more aggressive.

Our job at the 51�Թ��� is to help the administration and Congress understand that all of these policies and more are intertwined and interconnected. We are telling the story about tariff impacts on manufacturing. Since they are intent on applying them…then they need a plan to offset those cost pressures somewhere else.

So, let’s talk about that comprehensive manufacturing strategy. A strategy, unlike a wish list, is focused on how to get us where we want to go within a given reality.

And I want to lay out some thoughts—and then I want to hear from you…your reactions, your questions. That will happen later on during this session after we bring the External Affairs team on stage.

Taxes

Let’s start with taxes. As I was saying on the Competing to Win Tour, we have to do this now. Every day we wait means jobs and opportunity lost.

But here’s the good news. We are the association that can bring all the key players together.

We did it in 2017. We did it again last month, as Kathy mentioned, when we brought together House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith and Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo, along with the Speaker of the House and the House Majority Leader, to release the 51�Թ���’s tax study with EY at the U.S. Capitol.

Those of you who know Capitol Hill know that it’s next to impossible to get the chairs of the House and Senate tax-writing committees to be in the same room, much less share a stage. That’s the power of your 51�Թ���.

That study we released made the stakes clear.

• Failing to renew the 2017 tax reforms will cost America 6 million jobs, …
• ….including more than 1.1 million manufacturing jobs.
• The economy would suffer a $1.1 trillion hit.

And those numbers do not take into consideration any new price pressures from tariffs.

That’s not just economic data. That’s the difference between a worker getting a raise or losing a job, between a family affording a home or struggling to get by, between a school getting new resources or facing budget cuts.

In fact, the study specifically looked at worker wages—and found that more than $500 billion in worker pay is at risk. And that’s why the study is a powerful advocacy tool.

We have had a significant number of Republican Congressmen and Senators citing the data from our study. And I’ve had some off-the-record conversations with Democrats who want our help in doing better in this area.

But let’s go a step further. If the overarching goal is to increase production in the U.S., then let’s look at additional incentives that make manufacturing in America even more competitive.

President Trump has said he wants to get the corporate rate as low as 15%—which we suggested to him back in 2016 when I met with him at Trump Tower. He was excited about that suggestion then and embraced that goal when we helped his first White House team draft the bill.

So, we’re helping him get there now. And since they’ve put additional U.S. production incentives on the table, we will do everything in our power to make sure they work to every manufacturer’s advantage—and don’t come at the expense of our other priorities.

We are working to encourage Congress to think creatively so that both large corporations and pass-throughs get the full benefit of renewing expired provisions, like R&D expensing and interest deductibility as well as any new incentives.

That’s one way to get to a more commonsense, cohesive strategy.

Regulations

But of course, regulations are also part of the picture. Right now, manufacturers are spending $350 billion each and every year just to comply with federal regulations.

That’s about $50,000 per employee, per year at small manufacturers—according to our 51�Թ��� study. That’s unsustainable.

We need more regulatory clarity and consistency. And we’re helping the administration achieve that objective.

They have already acted on many of the regulatory items on the roadmap we sent them during the transition. Like lifting the LNG export ban. That was a big Day One win for us. … Like rescinding problematic ESG standards at the SEC… That was another one.

These are good first steps. We need more of it—and the urgency grows by the day.

And when activist groups inevitably try to block the administration, the 51�Թ��� Legal Center will be in court defending our progress.

Permitting and Energy

Perhaps nowhere is regulatory and permitting urgency greater than in the energy sector.

From pipelines to renewable energy … from critical mineral mines to hydroelectric and nuclear power plants … from interstate transmission lines to battery manufacturing and semiconductor fabs, … we are seeing opportunities for energy dominance fade in the face of a permitting process that takes 80 percent longer than other major, developed nations. Eighty. Percent. Longer. That is unacceptable.

Our view is that America should be the undisputed leader in energy production and innovation. The President agrees—he just established a new National Energy Dominance Council, whose mission is filled with 51�Թ��� priorities.

Give us the tools, and manufacturers will make it happen.

Workforce

Of course, you can have the right tax policy, smarter regulation, faster permitting, and abundant energy, but without people, nothing gets done. We are, and always will be, a people driven industry, even as we lead at the cutting edge of AI.

Over the past year, we have averaged 500,000 open manufacturing jobs in America—good-paying, life-changing careers. And by the year 2033, we face a shortfall of 1.9 million manufacturing workers.\

That’s according to research from the 51�Թ���’s workforce and education affiliate, the Manufacturing Institute. They produced that study in partnership with Deloitte.

We’ve heard from all of you what works: apprenticeships, hands-on training, public-private partnerships—and making sure people can see the reality of manufacturing careers that make a difference for families, for communities and for our country.

And as Nick Pinchuk would remind us—those careers reward people with a sense of dignity and pride. That’s why manufacturers are increasingly turning to the Manufacturing Institute for workforce solutions.

On top of workforce programs and incentives, we also need to modernize our immigration policies. The President has focused on border security. Okay, but we have to go further, because without a functioning legal immigration system, one that is based on the economic needs of our nation, we will not reach our full potential or have a talent pool big enough to do the work ahead.

Trade

Uncertainty in workforce planning … it’s just as damaging as uncertainty in tax, regulatory, energy, permitting or trade policy.

Which brings us back to where we started: trade and tariffs….

Back in 2019, everyone who sat in the seats of this board of directors and our entire organization put our credibility on the line to support congressional passage of the USMCA at the request of the president and his administration. So it seems quite logical that we will defend the USMCA.

After all, it was one of President Trump’s signature achievements from his first term. We need to defend it because it prioritized manufacturing in the United States, it secured supply chains, and it strengthened our industry.

It pivoted production away from China to the North American continent … to the U.S. and our closest allies … and away from one of our fiercest competitors.

But we need more:

We need a trade policy that respects the manufacturing investments that we’ve made under the rules we were given.

Since the new world order involves tariffs, they need to start low, giving manufacturers in the United States time to adjust their investment and expansion strategies accordingly.

We are encouraging the administration to think about tariffs in the context of that comprehensive manufacturing strategy that I outlined…. A longer runway that incentivizes, … rather than penalizes … manufacturers… To prioritize leveling the playing field against market distortions like dumping, subsidization and the theft of intellectual property.

And, of course, any tariff policy should also have clear and reliable exclusions. And why is that?

Because of critical minerals and other industrial inputs, like chemicals and energy products, that simply cannot be sourced in the U.S. They need to be tariff-free—so supply chains are not disrupted and manufacturers are not penalized for inputs that simply do not exist domestically.

The administration has to recognize there could be scarcity and shortages until we get to the point where we produce more here.

For example, two-thirds of the primary aluminum we need today comes from Canada. So we’ll need a policy that ensures manufacturers who need that aluminum aren’t sidelined, a policy that prioritizes the needs of American manufacturing and your access to the inputs you need.

And here’s another imperative: we need more trade agreements that expand market access and that ensure fair competition—so that manufacturers in the U.S. can compete on a level playing field.

So again, maybe I’m sounding a little repetitious. But here’s the bottom line: A commonsense, comprehensive manufacturing strategy to align our trade policy with tax, regulatory, energy and workforce initiatives—so that manufacturers can plan, grow and succeed. Anything else creates a piecemeal approach that generates uncertainty … and uncertainty kills investment.

***

51�Թ��� Leadership

Now if you’re like a lot of our members, you probably have whiplash, going from one agenda in the White House to another … back to the other … over the past eight-plus years.

But the one thing that you can count on is this: the 51�Թ��� will always respond in the appropriate manner.

All of our work, as you well know, is based on policy, not on politics, not on personality and not on process. That imperative has not changed. And it will not change.

Our greatest asset is that virtually every politician, left or right, wants to see manufacturing succeed.

That’s because manufacturing’s success is about more than balance sheets and profits. These elected officials know it’s about individual families in their communities.

It’s about when that member of Congress walks down the street and sees that a new school has been built because of the economic might that a manufacturing facility has pumped into a town.

It’s what Kathy and I saw in Ohio as we kicked off this year’s Competing to Win Tour at Armstrong World Industries with the State of Manufacturing Address.

We visited Ohio, Texas, Alabama and Florida last week, and everywhere we went we were energized by what manufacturers are doing—from Freeport LNG … to Toyota … to Milo’s Tea … to Port Miami.

By the way, thank you, Tricia Wallwork, for the warm welcome outside Birmingham. Your passion and the company culture are so evident. And your tea, well, as I told you, it tastes just like my grandmother used to make.

And Chris Nielsen, you have a stellar team just outside Huntsville. Thank you, Toyota, for the incredible tour.

Thank you also to everyone who has already brought your story to Washington, DC, this year though powerful testimony before Congress…

Karl Hutter and Courtney Silver …. Barbara Humpton from Siemens … and Noah Hanners from Nucor.

And to all the board members whose companies were represented during our tax event with House leadership that Kathy recognized already … thank you again!

As members of the board, as leaders of the manufacturing ecosystem, you all have the power to use your voice to ensure that leaders on both sides of the aisle, in Congress, the White House and the agencies, make the right decisions.

…

That’s our job at the 51�Թ��� … You invest in us to help you succeed, to help the industry succeed, to help our country succeed. Because when manufacturing wins, America wins.

And your investment matters even more. Because we live in a new reality, a new world order.

***

The Choice Before Us

More than three decades ago, the fall of the Berlin Wall harkened not only the collapse of an empire but the triumph of an idea. It was the vindication of freedom over oppression, of open markets over command economies, of democracy over dictatorship.

President Reagan had long called America the “last best hope of man on Earth,” and in that moment, history affirmed his words. The Soviet Union collapsed, and President George H.W. Bush spoke then of a “new world order,” a world where American leadership would usher in stability, prosperity, and global cooperation.

But the tides of history are restless.

Over the past three decades, new forces have emerged, reshaping the global order. China, once an economic understudy, now seeks to write its own rules for trade, technology, and security.

Russia, though diminished, wields disruption as a weapon, seeking relevance through aggression—and targeting democracy, not only in Ukraine but beyond.

And across the Middle East, regional actors assert themselves, untethered from the frameworks of the past.

The world is no longer defined by a single guiding force but by a contest of ambition, where nations pursue their own paths, and power is measured in economic strength as much as in military might.

So we stand at yet another inflection point. And our ability to lead in this new era will not rest on rhetoric but on action—on our capacity to build, to innovate, and to compete. A strong and dynamic manufacturing sector must be at the heart of that effort, ensuring that America remains self-reliant, yet engaged, in the world, prepared, and ready to meet the challenges ahead.

The question before us is not whether the world will change—it already has. The question is whether we will shape the future, or be shaped by it.

I know how I want to answer that question. And I sure hope everyone here would agree with me.

So thank you. I want to thank you for your leadership. I want to thank you for your vision. And as always, I want to thank you for your commitment to the success of this storied institution, the 51�Թ���.

The manufacturing skills gap in the U.S. could result in 2.1 million unfilled jobs by 2030, according to a by Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute, the workforce development and education partner of the 51�Թ���. The cost of those missing jobs could potentially total $1 trillion in 2030 alone.

The study’s dramatic findings come from online surveys of more than 800 U.S.-based manufacturing leaders, as well as interviews with executives across the industry and economic analyses. All told, they paint a worrying picture of manufacturing’s labor shortage. The lack of skilled labor was the industry’s major challenge even before the pandemic, according to the 51�Թ���’s quarterly outlook surveys—and this new study shows it’s still a major concern today.

The hard data: About 1.4 million U.S. manufacturing jobs were lost during the early days of the pandemic, according to the study, setting back the manufacturing labor force by more than a decade. However, the industry has largely recovered those lost jobs and is now urgently seeking more workers.

• While the manufacturing industry recouped 63% of jobs lost during the pandemic, the remaining 570,000 had not been added back by the end of 2020, despite a near record number of job openings in the sector.

The inside scoop: Manufacturers surveyed reported that finding the right talent is now 36% harder than it was in 2018, even though the unemployment rate has nearly doubled the supply of available workers.

• Executives reported they cannot even fill higher paying entry-level production positions, let alone find and retain skilled workers for specialized roles.
• A long-term challenge: 77% of manufacturers say they will have ongoing difficulties in attracting and retaining workers in 2021 and beyond.

Deloitte says: “Given the foundational role the manufacturing sector plays in our nation’s economy, it is deeply concerning that at a time when jobs are in such high demand nationwide, the number of vacant entry-level manufacturing positions continues to grow,” said Paul Wellener, Deloitte vice chairman and U.S. industrial products and construction leader. “Attracting and retaining diverse talent presents both a challenge and solution to bridging the talent gap. To attract a new generation of workers, the industry should work together to change the perception of work in manufacturing and expand and diversify its talent pipeline.”

The Institute says: “Manufacturers are proud to lead efforts to build stronger, more diverse and inclusive workplaces because we are committed to being the solution,” said Carolyn Lee, executive director of the Institute. “As we expand our programs at The Manufacturing Institute, and work with the 51�Թ��� on initiatives like our , we’re making sure that Americans of all backgrounds in all states can find a home in manufacturing and get equipped with the skills to seize these opportunities.”

More than half of all manufacturers will be testing or using fifth-generation cellular wireless technology (aka 5G) in some capacity by the end of 2021, according to a from The Manufacturing Institute. The big numbers:

• 91% of manufacturers believe 5G connectivity will be important to the overall future of their businesses.
• 91% of manufacturers indicate speed of 5G deployment will have a positive impact on their ability to compete globally.
• 88% of manufacturers indicate 5G connectivity will allow engineers to troubleshoot remotely.

All-encompassing: 5G is poised to help manufacturers in almost every part of their businesses, according to the study.

• Nine in ten manufacturers expect the utilization of 5G to lead to the creation of new processes (88%) and new businesses (86%). It can make supply chains more efficient and both machines and workers more productive. It also will likely lead to new improvements no one has anticipated yet.

Drilling down: Let’s look at just one facet of 5G’s potential impact: its effects on factory operations. This is how comprehensive the 5G transformation is expected to be:

• Four-fifths of manufacturers indicate 5G technology will be important to inventory tracking (83%), facility security (81%) and warehousing and logistics (81%) within their facilities.
• Three-fourths of manufacturers indicate 5G will also be important to inspection (76%) and assembly (76%) activities, with seven in ten saying packaging (72%) and employee training (71%) efforts will benefit from the deployment of 5G.

And let’s not overlook the fact that more than 90% of manufacturers expect cost savings of approximately 38% from their 5G connections.

Competitive advantage: “Manufacturers’ competitiveness depends on their ability to continuously improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations, and disruptive technologies are changing the way that firms innovate and produce,” said the Institute’s Center for Manufacturing Research Director and 51�Թ��� Chief Economist Chad Moutray.

More information: You can join the Institute for a webinar on 5G technologies on Tuesday, April 6, at 2:00 p.m. ET. Register .

Manufacturers across the country are working to keep their teams and communities safe and healthy and also contending with the full range of effects—to the economy, to their supply chains, to their operations and more—of the COVID-19 outbreak. A newly released survey of manufacturing leaders conducted by the 51�Թ��� reveals the state of the industry as the situation unfolds.

In the survey, which was in the field from Feb. 28 to March 9, 78.3% of respondents say that the COVID-19 outbreak is likely to have a financial impact on their businesses; 53.1% of manufacturers are anticipating a change in their operations in the coming months; and 35.5% say that they are already facing supply chain disruptions.

When asked about resources that they need, survey respondents cite reliable information, including nonpolitical and non-sensationalized facts; clear and timely updates on new restrictions and health advisories; information about how other companies are reacting; clear guidelines from expert agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health; and early detection resources to help stop the spread of the virus.

The survey findings helped inform the 51�Թ���’s “COVID-19 Policy Action Plan Recommendations,” released earlier this week, with policy proposals for lawmakers to help contain the spread of coronavirus and ensure economic resilience.

“Already, manufacturers are grappling with disruptions to their businesses due to the COVID-19 outbreak, with many anticipating financial and operational consequences—even before some of the developments of this week,” said 51�Թ��� President and CEO Jay Timmons. “The federal government can take steps to further equip manufacturers to deal with COVID-19 by implementing the 51�Թ���’s ‘COVID-19 Policy Action Plan Recommendations.’ Across the country, manufacturers are stepping up to keep their employees and their communities safe and healthy, and working closely with elected officials, we can ensure the resilience not only of our companies but also our country.”

Within a day of the plan’s release, leading members of Congress began pushing for one of its key elements, tariff relief, and both the administration and members of Congress voiced their support for key legal protections for manufacturers of protective N95 masks.

As policymakers address these issues, the 51�Թ��� is continuing to convene coronavirus resources for manufacturers, connecting these businesses with guidance from appropriate government officials and agencies and providing updates on the state of the manufacturing industry.

For more information, including best practices, CDC resources and more, go to .

U.S. manufacturers have experienced record growth over the past couple years, but certainty on a wide portfolio of issues, from infrastructure to trade, will be critical to keep that growth sustained throughout 2019. For policymakers in Washington, the May jobs reported should make that clear.

According to the latest , the U.S. economy created just 75,000 new jobs in May, with a sluggish 3,000 manufacturing jobs created for the month.

“Manufacturing employment has been more sluggish than desired for four straight months, coinciding with weaker demand and production activity and lagging behind the robust pace we experienced last year,” 51�Թ��� Chief Economist Chad Moutray said. “Indeed, manufacturers created 264,000 net new jobs in 2018, the best pace of employment growth in the sector since 1997. Yet, the sector has added only 13,000 employees since February. For those numbers to pick back up, our leaders in Washington must recommit to tackling the issues currently creating uncertainty for businesses and focus on policies aimed at sustaining the vigorous growth the industry saw last year.”

Employment has not been the only indicator that’s lagged behind. Earlier this week, the Institute for Supply Management® said manufacturing activity in May at its slowest pace since October 2016; whereas the competing survey from IHS Markit that was the weakest pace in nearly a decade. In addition, manufacturing production in three of the past four months.

“Manufacturers need certainty,” Moutray said. “Things like ratifying the USMCA, securing a bilateral trade agreement with China, passing a long-term reauthorization of the Ex-Im Bank and enacting a bipartisan agreement to update our nation’s infrastructure are immediate steps policymakers can take that would greatly benefit the industry long into the future.”

Another factor holding back manufacturing growth is the looming workforce crisis—a challenge which continues to be the top concern for business leaders, especially in a tight labor market. The number of job openings in the sector has remained highly elevated, averaging about a half million per month over the past 12 months.

“At the end of the day, despite lower levels of industry growth, manufacturers are still creating far more open jobs than workers ready to fill them,” Moutray said. “That’s putting a damper on job creation as well.” Overall, the labor market remains tight, with the unemployment rate remaining 3.6 percent, the lowest since December 1969.

The , the 51�Թ���’s education and workforce partner, is the leading industry authority on workforce development and recognizes the need to grow the qualified manufacturing workforce and close the skills gap. It has a range of programs and initiatives designed to do just that.

“The future of this industry and our economy at large are both tied to the future of the manufacturing workforce,” said Carolyn Lee, Manufacturing Institute executive director. “It’s just one more reason why we at the Institute work so hard every day to support the manufacturing workforce of today and grow the manufacturing workforce of tomorrow.”

While some politicians in Washington and presidential candidates across the country are openly discussing rolling back key parts of the historic tax reform bill signed into law back in 2017, the 51�Թ���’ latest survey data paints an alarming picture of the impact such a move would have on the U.S. economy and the manufacturing industry in particular.

According to the 51�Թ���’s Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey from first quarter of 2019, two thirds (66 percent) of manufacturers would be forced to consider cutting back investments in the United States if Congress rolled back portions of the tax reform bill, while 62 percent would scale back projected growth in wages and bonuses. Meanwhile, more than half (54 percent) would cut back on hiring.

“These are scary numbers,” Chris Netram, 51�Թ���’s Vice President of Tax and Domestic Economic Policy, said.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act took the U.S. tax code from one of the least competitive among advanced economies to “just about average,” Netram said. “Backsliding to uncompetitive rates and policies tells companies that operate in a global supply chain that the U.S. is not open for business. It will force them to look elsewhere.”

“Long term, the global economy will still continue to grow,” Netram said. “But the United States won’t capture as much of it.”

Because taxes are a fixed cost in any investment, raising taxes drives the required rate of return on any investment even higher, raising the threshold for what would make an investment profitable and changing the calculus for businesses planning future investments in equipment and employees.

Small manufacturers have benefited from tax reform’s provision allowing for a 20 percent deduction of “pass-through” small business income. While much of the discussion in Washington has focused on the corporate tax rate, far more manufacturers file as pass-through businesses, meaning smaller firms would bear the brunt of a full tax reform repeal.

“The number of pass-throughs dwarfs the number of corporate filers,” Netram said. “If you were looking to harm small manufacturers, reducing or repealing the pass through deduction is how you’d do it. That’s one thing that’s so alarming about what some leaders are talking about in Washington.”

The 51�Թ��� has conducted its quarterly Outlook Survey since 1997. Last year’s aggregated results found the most optimistic reading among U.S. manufacturers in the survey’s history, with respondents crediting the tax reform bill as a major factor. A similar survey from 2018 found huge majorities were planning to increase investments, hiring and wages due to the tax law. Meanwhile, job growth in the industry in 2018 was the fastest in more than twenty years.

“Adopting a more competitive tax system has boosted the industry,” Netram said. “Rolling back the benefits of tax reform would make it more difficult to further grow our thriving American manufacturing sector.”