NAM uses poor jobs report to push for Trans-Pacific trade deal
by June 8, 2016 10:29 am 125 views
Manufacturing leaders with one industry trade association are making a stronger case for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) amid a dismal jobs report earlier this month.
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) issued a statement this week calling the 38,000 jobs added “pathetic,” stating that it is “a vivid example of why we need the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) now.”
NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons called the report “a wakeup call for anyone who thinks we are on solid economic ground, adding that policymakers in Washington “can’t fix every problem, but they can certainly take action to give manufacturing – and the larger economy – a boost.”
The TPP would do this, Timmons said, by allowing manufacturers to sell U.S.-made products to millions of new customers overseas, leading to internal job growth in the manufacturing sector.
“Congress and the Obama administration need to work together to get this deal done,” Timmons said. “Manufacturers, and almost all employers for that matter, are holding back on hiring because they lack confidence in the ability of Congress and the administration to put aside partisan differences to do what is in the best interest of America’s future. In May, we also saw too few Americans go back to work — and too many give up and leave the workforce altogether because they have given up on the American Dream.”
Timmons believes that pro-growth trade policy coupled with comprehensive tax and regulatory reform would “empower our country to compete and win in the global economy – creating jobs and providing inspiration for those who clearly need it.”
Timmons continued: “The presidential candidates and all candidates for the House and Senate need to explain exactly what they will do to enact these commonsense economic measures outlined in ‘Competing to Win.’ Getting this agenda accomplished is the only way to reverse the malaise we are experiencing in our country and put us on the road to success again.”
The manufacturing sector employs more than 12 million men and women in the U.S. and contributes $2.17 trillion to the national economy each year. However, the number of jobs has been on the decline since 1960, losing 5 million since 2000 per the Bureau of Labor Statistics.