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Made in America Manufacturer Prospers in Rust Belt

Tuesday, February 17th, 2026

Last November, I watched a video interview on LinkedIn where Drew Greenblatt, President of Marlin Steel Wire Products, was talking about how he was investing in his companies located in rural areas of Indiana and Michigan.  I connected with him and asked him if he would be willing to let me interview him about his company’s success as I like to write articles about successful American manufacturers.

Our schedules final coincided last Friday, and to start the interview, I asked Drew to provide a brief history of Marlin Steel.  He said, “The company was founded in 1968 by another fellow. I owned a company that made medical devices and burglar alarms. I did very nicely with it. It was hard hours, early in the morning appointments, late in the night appointments, and it was a business selling to consumers. It didn’t match my personal deportment. I like dealing and working with engineers that are very black and white, that are very precise.  So, I craved working with more scientifically bent people.

We got an offer to buy my company, and I used the proceeds of the sale to buy Marlin Steel in 1998 when it was in a 3,000 sq. ft. building, The newest piece of equipment was from the 1950s. The company had no health insurance plan. The health insurance plan was going to the emergency room. They had no retirement plan.  The retirement plan was Social Security. So, we’ve come a long way. Everybody has the same health insurance plan my wife and I have, and my three boys have. And we’re very fortunate. More than half the employees own a home. Most employees own at least one car, most have two cars, and they all have 401ks, and they’re very well paid.  Manufacturing is fabulous for American workers, and they’re feeling it at Marlin. It’s great stuff.  I moved the company to Baltimore, MD, and the plant is now 37 times bigger than the Brooklyn plant.”  

I asked Drew what kind of equipment he has now.  He said, “We have press brakes up to 230 tons and 10 ft. wide, laser cutting machines, and we just acquired a new Trumatic 3000 robotic laser punch combo machine that is 10x faster than our other machines. It’s going to enable us to cut brass, cut copper, as well as stainless steel, aluminum, and sheet metal like we’ve done in the past.  Separately, in our Indiana plant, we also have a lot of wire equipment, three-dimensional benders. We have automated mesh welders.  We do cable access trays, wire baskets, carts, point of purchase displays. We do a tremendous amount of Top-of-the-line quality production out of all these three facilities.”

I asked Drew when he acquired the plant in Orland, IN, and he answered, “Marsden Steel Wire Products was established in 1938, and it was a fabulous company in the rural Indiana. We I heard through the grapevine in 2021 that it was available for sale. We bought the company and put over $5 million dollars of cash into it:   brand new bathrooms, brand new break rooms, brand new offices, brand new roof, just made the building sparkle.  We now have 100,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space and took the company from 33 employees to 80 employees We have wire fabrication equipment, 3D benders, and automated mesh welder. We are hiring people there, and we’re growing. “

I next asked Drew when he expanded to having a plant in Bronson, MI., and he responded, “In March 2023, we wanted Marsden Steel to have their own powder coating plant, and we heard about a building ten miles north of Orland in Bronson that was available. The building had been empty since the recession of 2008 when the company closed down after being the major employer of this small rural community.  We bought this decrepit building and had a career fair where 350 people applied for jobs.  We put millions of dollars into the plant buying equipment, modernizing the bathrooms, lunch break room, and offices.  We are hiring more people and growing to become the major manufacturer in the community. We pay good wages and provide good benefits to our employees. We’re very excited. We love Michigan. We love Indiana. They have great manufacturing communities. We look at how fabulous the workforce is. It’s just tremendous. We’re just so fortunate and blessed to be in these communities. 

I changed the subject to ask how tariffs are affecting his company.  He responded, “Tariffs are fabulous for Marlin and Madsen Steel Wire because we only make in America and we only use American steel.  So, entities that build in America don’t have a tariff problem. I would recommend to people that are having a hardship with tariffs, build in America, and then you don’t have to pay a tariff. 

It’s really good for the local community because what happens is you hire locals. And then these locals buy homes, and they buy cars, and they go to the local dry cleaner, and they go to the local barbershop, and they’re gainfully employed, and they’re making a nice middle-class living.  I implore communities to encourage manufacturing. This policy is about time because it gives us an opportunity to make a level playing field with people that have been subsidizing their steel, subsidizing their currency, despoiling their environment.  You know, we treat our environment A++. I live right by the Chesapeake Bay in Baltimore. I love eating Maryland crabs. We want to have a clean environment. It’s not right that people bring in things from dirty factories that are putting smog in the world and despoiling the Yangtze River and their environment, and then shipping to us for a ‘low price.’  The low price is despoiling our environment. They’re using slave labor, and it’s just not a fair fight competing with state-owned enterprises over in China.  I believe that we have to recalibrate our thought process, buy from the hometown heroes in Maryland, Indiana, Michigan, and other American local communities so that they can support a middle-class lifestyle.”

Drew said, “I think there’s a dramatic change that’s about to happen. We are right now at a junction point. I contend that we are right now de-risking as a nation and decoupling from China. For decades, we’ve had a very poor policy description of outsourcing all of our factories to China and not making things as much as we used to.   And that was a foolish policy.

We are now pivoting, thankfully, to a policy where we embrace American manufacturing because we need to make things here.  We can’t be beholden to outsiders that they will make us ships and they will make us shoes and they will make us baskets and they will make us racks and they will make us carts when times get tough.  We have to be self-sufficient. We have to make our own printed circuit boards. We have to make our own silicon chips.  We have to make things here in America. I think there’s a realization by our policymakers that we have to re-look at how we did things in the past, and there is a fabulous, bright opportunity for the American people because there’s going to be a lot of new avenues to make a decent, solid, middle-class living again in our country.  We can’t just be a nation of baristas and housekeepers and service workers at restaurants.  We have to have very fulfilling jobs, jobs with dignity, making high-end pay with great benefits.”

I told him that couldn’t have said it better and have said it similarly in my books and articles. We have been outsourcing our pollution by sourcing manufacturing in China and other Asian countries. China is one of the most polluted countries in the world.  What China and India have done to their countries is criminal.  I agree that we need to make things in America because we make them in a non-polluting way because of beneficial environmental regulations.

Next, I asked if he was involved in any kind of industry association, and he answered, “Yes,

I’m a proud member of the National Association of Manufacturers and the Regional Manufacturing Institute.  I am a former member of the NAM Executive Board, and I was the chairman of the small and medium-sized manufacturers comprising 14,000 members.   I love NAM. I think they’re fabulous. I think there are discussions at NAM about the right way to approach the tariffs and some of these other policies. I think NAM is an important advocate for American manufacturing and think they’re doing a great job for our country.”

Finally, I asked him if his company practiced the principles of Lean manufacturing and done any training in lean. He replied, “I had the honor and privilege as the chairman of the Regional Manufacturing Institute here in Baltimore to introduce Ellie Goldratt on his last speech in public to a huge crowd in Baltimore, Maryland. He spoke at a local community college in a huge auditorium, and I was privileged to introduce him before his speech.  He was unfortunately dying of lung cancer, and he gave a most beautiful speech for his class public speech. 

Afterwards, he pulled me aside, and he said that he was touched by my intro because I expressed to the crowd that his book had changed my life and changed how we ran the business and saved my business because we followed his methods. He said that he was heading back to the hotel before he went to the airport and invited me to ride in his limo to talk.  I accepted his offer even though I had my own car in the parking lot because I realized that this was one of the greatest opportunities of my life. For the next 20 minutes, he basically did an autopsy on me even though I was alive.  All of his piercing, smart questions really dove deep into Marlon Steele and gave me some great ideas. Unfortunately, he soon passed after returning to Israel. It was a touching moment in my life, and we changed our business because of him.  A lot of my success is because of his great advice.”

In conclusion, I asked him if he has any plans to expand to any other locations in the future. He responded, “Yes, absolutely. We are going to be growing in America, only in America. We need more thriving small and medium-sized manufacturers, but we also need big ones because, you know, I hope to be one of the big boys and keep on growing.  We’re 37 times bigger than the day I bought the factory in 1998, and I want to be 37 times bigger than I am today. We are having discussions with several other entities.  We are aggressively looking to acquire other manufacturers that make wire fabrications and sheet metal fabrications. We’re very optimistic about the future.  We’re very bullish on America.”

I told him that his company was definitely the kind of company that I like to write about and he is the type of company owner we need to have more of in America —  people that appreciate our country, appreciate making things in America in the communities in which they live, appreciate the people that work for them by giving them the right kind of benefits and safe working conditions, and training. I want more companies to be successful like his company because it’s beneficial to the communities you’re in and beneficial to our economy because manufacturing jobs create taxpayers instead of people who receive benefits.

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Why a Market Access Charge Would Have Greater Benefits Than Tariffs

Tuesday, December 9th, 2025

The uproar over President Trump’s tariffs reminded me of another proposed way to balance trade, the Market Access Charge (MAC)  created by John R. Hansen, PhD, Founding Editor of Making America Competitive Again. I met John in 2017 at the annual trade conference of the Coalition for a Prosperous America when he was on CPA’s Advisory Board,, and we have been keeping in touch ever since.

I have written previous articles about the MAC and included a description of the MAC in one of the chapters of my book, Rebuild Manufacturing – the key to American Prosperity. For first-time readers, I explained that the MAC is “a small charge that would be collected on all foreign-source money entering America’s financial markets…which would probably start at two percent and would be collected by U.S. banks receiving foreign money transfer orders via systems like SWIFT.”

I recently connected with John to find out the status of the MAC, and he expanded on the description of the MAC saying, “it is an import tax of probably 1-3% on inflows of all foreign-source money. The MAC would moderate gross inflows of “trash cash, like the trillions of Chinese RMBs and Japanese JPYs, of about $90 trillion per year. This money is “trash cash” because only about two or three percent of these inflows are used to finance real physical investments such as new or updated factories that can be counted as true foreign direct investment (FDI). The remainder goes into America’s “Capital Casino” aka financial sector. We need moderation because speculative portfolio investments such as bonds are money that we do not need and the MAC would reduce the undervaluation of foreign exchange monies relative to U.S. Dollar.

In other articles, I’ve written about how other countries such as China, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan have undervalued their currencies, making their products more competitive in the global marketplace, while our overvalued dollar makes American products more expensive in the global marketplace.  Low exchange rates for foreign currency mean that the dollar prices of foreign goods and services fall relative to the dollar prices of made-in-America goods and services. This makes the dollar prices of foreign-made goods cheaper, hurting the ability of made-in-America goods to compete with foreign-made goods both in domestic U.S. markets and in foreign markets for our exports.

As a result, we import more products than we export, causing the increasingly large trade deficits of the past 25 years. Trade deficits have grown from $451 Billion in the year 2000 to more than double at $918.4 billion for 2024. The increasing dependence on debt from foreign countries causes severe risks for America’s financial, economic, political, and social future.  Our national debt has nearly doubled since 2020 and was $28.1 trillionat the end of 2024.

In contrast, John explained, “The MAC would make America-made goods more competitive against imports in the U.S and against foreign-made products as exports. The MAC would be a “duty on financial imports” that would be set on a quarterly basis — much as the FED sets interest rates. Upon initial implementation, the FED would set the rate to a low non-zero rate if the trade deficit was greater than 1% of GDP. On a quarterly basis, the FED would review trends in the US trade balance (much as it does with interest rates and inflation). If the deficit was greater than 1% of GDP, the MAC rate would be raised by an amount judged to be small enough to not cause a crisis and large enough to move the trade deficit in the right direction.

Conversely, once the trade deficit began to trend downwards towards zero, the MAC rate would be reduced gradually towards zero. The rate would be publicly available on government websites on a 24/7 basis, and at any point in time, only a single rate would apply to all financial inflows, regardless of currency, country of origin, amount, ownership, or intended use.

The MAC would always remain in effect — even at a zero rate. Then, if changing global conditions led to new U.S. trade deficits greater than, for example, 1% of GDP, the FED would simply move the MAC rate back to a non-zero rate and immediately publish the decision. It would be a perfect blend of ‘temporary’ and ‘permanent,’ both required by the IMF for capital flow management tools (CFMs) such as the MAC. The MAC tax would be collected by U.S. banks receiving foreign money transfer orders via systems like SWIFT.”

In our conversation, John clarified a misunderstanding about the word “investment.” He said, “The rich, especially those in the banking community who sponsor America’s “capital casino,” — seem to call all money “investment.” However, this term can be very misleading because it fails to distinguish between money that builds America’s physical productivity and money that the rich use for speculation.

Depending on the year, of America’s roughly $90 trillion of gross annual inflows of “money” from abroad, only 1-3% actually goes into fixed capital formation such as construction or physical improvement of factories, farms, infrastructure, and office automation as defined by BEA.”

He explained, “The vast bulk of the capital inflows — the remaining 97-99% of them — go primarily into portfolio investments such as bonds, non-controlling shares of stock, bank deposits, etc. These speculative financial investments, which have exploded over past decades relative to GDP, make rich speculators even richer (or poorer if they place their bets wrong), increase risk and volatility, increase the risk of massive economic meltdowns for America like the one of 2008, and help drive inflation ever higher. However, such investments do virtually nothing to increase America’s physical productivity or its real GDP.”

He added, “The MAC would target the most important cause of the growing U.S. trade deficits, the decline of U.S. jobs that produce internationally traded goods and services, and the shrinking U.S. budget revenues. Expenditures by foreign direct investors to acquire, establish, or expand U.S. businesses totaled $151.0 billion in 2024, according to preliminary statistics released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Expenditures decreased $24.9 billion, or 14.2 percent, from $176.0 billion (revised) in 2023 and were below the annual average of $277.2 billion for 2014–2023. As in previous years, acquisitions of existing U.S. businesses accounted for most of the expenditures.

I asked John what would be the benefit of the MAC compared to tariffs, and he listed the following:

  • No cost to Americans – the MAC is paid by foreigners
  • Increases exports of goods and services — not just reduce selected imports
  • Increases manufacturing jobs and jobs in wide range of sectors including upstream and downstream suppliers to manufacturers, such as raw materials, agriculture, and transportation.
  • Provides an even playing field – same ratefor all products, producers, countries, etc. instead of the widely varying rates for tariffs.
  • Provides almost zero opportunity for evasion
  • Provides almost zero risk of retaliation
  • Reduces casino capitalism by increasing profitability of real investments in real made-in-America production compared to simply spinning the roulette wheels faster in America’s speculative capital casinos
  • Increases affordability of goods for all Americans
  • Provides Twenty to Thirty times greater fiscal impact as tax base is $90 trillion, not just $3 -$4 trillion
  • End trade deficits by expanding exports, not just reducing imports
  • End budget deficits without raising taxes on Americans

I asked John if there any economists or organizations besides the Coalition for a Prosperous America of which we are both members that support the MAC.  He replied with the following  examples:

  • Economic Policy Institute – Robert Scott
  • Peterson Institute for International Economics – Joe Gagnon
  • American Compass – they published an excellent booklet promoting the MAC
  • Michael Pettis of Carnegie
  • Former U.S. Trade Representative Bob Lighthizer
  • Steve Miran of Hudson Bay Capital/CEA/Fed
  • Financial Times – Martin Wolf and Gillian Tett
  • Harry Moser, The Reshoring Initiative

I next asked what support does the MAC have by members of Congress, and he replied that Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) have been supportive of the MAC in the past.  In fact, they had introduced S. 2357, The Competitive Dollar For Jobs And Prosperity Act, on July 31, 2019. This bill would have tasked the Federal Reserve with achieving and maintaining a current account balancing price for the dollar within five years by implementing the “Market Access Charge. But as the bill was competing at the time for attention with the Covid pandemic, it died in committee without receiving a vote. John is currently having discussions with other Senators and Representatives in the House to gain support.

I conclusion, I asked what the chances are of the MAC being added to a bill or being a separate bill in the current Congress.  He said the chances are better than ever because it would be a basis for a bi-partisan agreement/compromise that would break the current budget deadlock.

He added, “In contrast to tariffs, the MAC meets the four criteria set by the International Monetary Fund for Capital Flow Management measures (CFMs), criteria which state that such measures must be transparent, temporary, targeted, and non-discriminatory.”  I didn’t know what CFMs were, so he explained that they are temporary measures aimed at stabilizing a country’s economy during crises. They may include capital controls to manage capital flows and protect foreign reserves. CFMs can involve restrictions on foreign exchange transactions to stabilize currency value. These measures are often linked to IMF lending programs and economic reform conditions. CFMs are designed to prevent excessive volatility in financial markets and promote economic stability. They are typically reviewed and adjusted based on the country’s economic recovery progress.

If we want to increase prosperity based on growing productivity, not growing mountains of debt, it’s time to stop the destruction of American industry and innovation, the loss of high-paying manufacturing jobs, and the collapse of communities.  We must stop importing more goods than we export, leaving us deeply indebted to our trading partners. I urge Congress to urgently pass a bill that would implement the Market Access Charge.  Call your Congressman and Senator today to urge them to support the introduction of such a bill.

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Legislation Protecting Inventors’ Rights Reintroduced to Congress

Tuesday, November 18th, 2025

Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY4) and co-sponsor Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) introduced bipartisan legislation, HR 5811, the Restoring America’s Leadership in Innovation Act (RALIA). This bill would put a halt to and reverse many of the adverse changes to our patent system that the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act of 2011 established, changing our patent system from being the best in the world to one that has nearly destroyed inventors’ rights. The America Invents Act (AIA) of 2011 was H.R. 1249 in the House and S. 23 in the Senate. The House Judiciary Committee played a significant role in advancing the legislation.

In his press release, Congressman Massie stated, “The RALIA legislation restores to Americans a patent system as the Constitution of the United States originally envisioned it…In Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, the Founding Fathers gave Congress the authority to protect the discoveries of inventors. Specifically, they created a patent system to ‘promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.’ Regrettably, Congress’s 2011 enactment of the Leahy-Smith ‘America Invents Act’ has worked in concert with several Supreme Court decisions to erode this protection’s strength and value.”

The press release also states: “RALIA affirms that a patent secures private property rights, allows inventors to get injunctions again against intellectual property thieves, restores inventors’ rights to defend their inventions in court by abolishing the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and ends the automatic publication of patent applications unless a patent is granted. 

Congressman Massie’s RALIA legislation is supported by organizations including AMAC Action, American Policy Center, Americans for Limited Government, Center for American Principles, Conservatives for Property Rights, Eagle Forum Education & Legal Defense Fund, IEEE-USA, Less Government, Let Freedom Ring, 60 Plus Association, the Small Business Technology Council, Taxpayers Protection Alliance, Tea Party Patriots Action, The Committee for Justice, Tradition Family Property Inc., U.S. Business & Industry Council, US Inventor, and Veterans Intellectual Property.”

Rep. Massie first introduced RALIA as H.R.5874 – Restoring America’s Leadership in Innovation Act of 2021  to the 117th Congress (2021-2022) and then as HR 8134, the Restoring America’s Leadership in Innovation Act (RALIA) to the 118th Congress (2023-2024) on April 16, 2024 with  Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) as co-sponsor. Neither of the above bills was approved by the IP subcommittee to be voted on by the Judiciary Committee to be released for a vote of the full House.

The protocol is for a bill to be introduced to the appropriate subcommittee of the appropriate House Committee.  In the case of legislation related to patents, it would first be introduced to the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet (commonly referred to as the “IP Subcommittee”), which oversees intellectual property matters. The Senate has a similar subcommittee Intellectual Property (IP) Subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee.

Here’s a detailed breakdown based on publicly available Congressional records and official committee rosters for the IP subcommittee:

1. Intellectual Property Subcommittee Members by Congress

A. 117th Congress (2021–2022)

Chair: Hank Johnson (D-GA)
Ranking Member: Darrell Issa (R-CA)

Democratic Members:

  • Hank Johnson (GA, Chair)
  • Jerry Nadler (NY)
  • Zoe Lofgren (CA)
  • Sheila Jackson Lee (TX)
  • Steve Cohen (TN)
  • Karen Bass (CA)
  • Mary Gay Scanlon (PA)
  • Madeleine Dean (PA)
  • Deborah Ross (NC)

Republican Members:

  • Darrell Issa (CA, Ranking)
  • Jim Jordan (OH)
  • Ken Buck (CO)
  • Steve Chabot (OH)
  • Mike Johnson (LA)
  • Tom Tiffany (WI)

B. 118th Congress (2023–2024)

Chair: Darrell Issa (R-CA)
Ranking Member: Hank Johnson (D-GA)

Republican Members:

  • Darrell Issa (CA)
  • Tom Tiffany (WI)
  • Scott Fitzgerald (WI)
  • Ben Cline (VA)
  • Cliff Bentz (OR)
  • Jim Jordan (OH, ex officio)

Democratic Members:

  • Hank Johnson (GA)
  • Mary Gay Scanlon (PA)
  • Deborah Ross (NC)
  • Madeleine Dean (PA)
  • Jerry Nadler (NY, ex officio)

C. 119th Congress (2025–2026)

Chair: Darrell Issa (R-CA)

Ranking Member: Hank Johnson (D-GA)

Republican Members:

  • Darrell Issa (CA)
  • Thomas Massie (KY)
  • Ben Cline (VA)
  • Scott Fitzgerald (WI)
  • Lance Gooden (TX)
  • Kevin Kiley (CA)
  • Laurel M. Lee (FL)
  • Russell Fry (SC)
  • Michael Baumgartner (WA)

Democratic Members:

The biggest problem for getting the RALIA bills approved by the IP Subcommittee and Judiciary Committee of the 117th and 118th Congress is that there were notable Judiciary Committee members who co-sponsored the AIA during the 112th Congress (2011–2012):

  • Lamar Smith (R-TX) – Chairman of the Judiciary Committee; Principal Sponsor of H.R.1249.
  • Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) – Judiciary Committee member; Original co-sponsor.
  • Howard Coble (R-NC) – Judiciary Committee member; Original co-sponsor.
  • Darrell Issa (R-CA) – Judiciary Committee member; Co-sponsor.
  • Mel Watt (D-NC) – Judiciary Committee member; Co-sponsor.

Source: Congress.gov – H.R. 1249 (America Invents Act) Co-sponsors\

Of these co-sponsors, only Congressman Darrell Issa is still on the IP subcommittee, but he has considerable influence as Chair of the subcommittee. 

All three versions of the RALIA bills would repeal the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), inter partes review (IPR) and post-grant review (PGR;) return the patent system to a “first-to-invent” model, rather than first-to-file, and would end automatic publication of patents. Inventor groups such as US Inventor and conservative groups have supported the legislation

The US Inventor website states: “Recent legislation and court decisions have all but destroyed what once was the world’s “gold standard” patent system, established by our Founders within our U.S. Constitution. Unless something is done soon, our Patent System will be pretty much ravaged, and with it, the American Dream.”

Randy Landreneau, President of US Inventor, Inc. stated, “RALIA returns the US Patent System to what it was prior to the negative changes from bad law and Supreme Court decisions that have greatly harmed American inventors and startups. These changes have 1) enabled monopolies by making it infinitely harder for startups to compete and 2) allowed China to threaten to take the lead in almost all key, future technologies. RALIA will not only restore America’s leadership in innovation, it will restore the American Dream for millions.”

Dirk Tomsin, Chief Operating Officer of US Inventor, Inc., stated “Unlike PERA, PREVAIL, and RESTORE—which fall short of addressing the core problems—the Restoring America’s Leadership in Innovation Act uses the correct statutory language to truly fix the problem. If we were to compare the patent system with the PTAB to a patient with a tumor. RALIA is the operation that removes that tumor.”

As a member of US Inventor and a board member of the San Diego Inventors Forum for 11 years, I understand the importance of safeguarding intellectual property and fostering an environment where inventors can thrive and strongly support this legislation. My call to action is, if your Congressman is a member of the current IP subcommittee, contact them to express your support for HR 5811, the Restoring America’s Leadership in Innovation Act (RALIA).

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Ohio Leads in Workforce Training

Tuesday, October 28th, 2025

Many of my business connections don’t think it is possible to train enough workers in manufacturing skills to fill the millions of open jobs in manufacturing.  I Have a more positive view because of all the successful programs I have written about over the past ten years.  After seeing a recent post on LinkedIn about workforce development in Ohio by Paola Masman, CEO and Creative Director of Masman Media located in Columbus, Ohio, I reconnected with her. I know Paola from when she was Media Director for the Coalition for a Prosperous America from 2017 to 2019 for which I was chair of the California chapter from 2013-2018 after being a member r since 2011.

Paola said, “Workforce development is a cornerstone of Ohio’s economic vitality, especially in an era where manufacturing requires advanced skills and adaptability. Ohio is in the midst of an economic renaissance. With billions in investment from companies like Intel, Honda, and others, Ohio is seeing incredible job creation across advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, logistics, and biotech. And the training infrastructure to meet this moment is already here: Several state agencies, notably the Ohio Technical Centers (OTCs), facilitate the upskilling and reskilling of workers to meet industry demands. These programs offer accessible pathways to lucrative careers through short-term certificate programs and specialized training tailored to the needs of Ohio’s robust manufacturing sector. The Ohio Technical Centers, community colleges, short-term credential programs, and upskilling initiatives are ready to equip our workforce. But there’s a problem, no one knows these opportunities exist.

I told her that is what I have found to be the case in California and many other states that have successful programs about which I have written.  I asked her why and when her company got involved with workforce development. She replied, “In 2021 after COVID shutdowns ended, manufacturers were open and the difficulty in finding skilled workers that had existed prior to the shutdowns became worse.  We saw the need to assist manufacturers in a new way to develop a skilled workforce and fill the pipeline. There are incredible job opportunities in manufacturing, and it was time to help workers get the training they need to bridge the gap. That’s where my company, Masman Media comes in. We are a full-service advertising agency with six full-time employees that lives inside this ecosystem.  We get hired by organizations, colleges, workforce boards, and economic development organizations for our expertise in manufacturing marketing as well as workforce development marketing. We work directly with colleges, OTCs, manufacturers, economic development organizations, industry sector partnerships, and workforce boards. Our job is to raise awareness and drive action, connecting people to programs that change lives and fill critical jobs. We’re not just a media-buying agency. We create the stories, the videos, the ads, the flyers, the landing pages, the scripts, and the strategies that get people to stop scrolling and start thinking, “Maybe that could be me.”

She explained, “We specialize in program-specific marketing, because telling someone to “go to college” isn’t enough. We tell them about the EMEC program that can lead to a $60,000/year technician job at Intel. Or the mechatronics certificate that gets them hired at a local manufacturing facility in 10 months. And we’ve seen it work: over 8,500 leads, 697 program registrants, and a 55% growth in one college’s engineering tech program just from one campaign. Some of the programs ae free and some have fees.  The OTC even has a free 4-week program to train people for entry level manufacturing jobs paying $19.50/hour. 

Working alongside regional partners and education providers, a single campaign produced 8,500 leads for technician pathways in advanced manufacturing. Because the training is employer-agnostic and stackable, participants remain job-ready across sectors like semiconductors, robotics, aerospace, and autonomous systems, regardless of individual facility timelines.”

I asked if they have measurable goals, and she said, “We track Key Performance Indicators such as how many leads are we getting, how many registrations are we getting from the leads, and how many students earn certificates. It’s harder to track the registrations because partner organizations are following up on the leads from the ad campaigns. We understand the urgency of the skilled talent gap, the nuance of marketing short-term training, and the importance of storytelling in economic development. That’s why Masman Media exists. We’re proud to be part of this mission in Ohio and we’re just getting started.”

I thanked Paola for sharing information about Ohio’s successful training program and wished her continued success.  Then, I researched the history of Ohio’s Career Technical Education and discovered that Ohio had long been a leader in this field.

In the 1970s when most states were ending their “shop” classes like machine shop, wood shop, and auto shop that had successfully trained students for non-college careers in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, the “Ohio Department of Education instructed school districts to form career tech planning districts (CTPDs). The demarcation of a CTPD was largely defined by population, with each CTPD required to deliver secondary CTE instruction…State legislation requires every Ohio student in grades 7-12 to have access to 12 CTE programs across at least eight of the 16 Ohio-approved career fields.  Every local school district in the state is part of a CTPD of some kind.  Career-tech inspires students to identify paths to future success and provides students opportunities to demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary for high school graduation and beyond. Students learn through career exploration, taking college courses and earning industry credentials. They receive customized learning that aligns their passions and interests to their career aspirations.”

“Ohio Technical Centers (OTCs) are an association of independently operated career-technical institutions operating across the state, primarily linked to the Ohio Department of Higher Education to facilitate the upskilling and reskilling of workers to meet industry demands. These centers play a vital role in enhancing the job skills and professional competencies of Ohio’s workforce. They provide flexible, timely adult education programs tailored to meet the specific needs of local communities. Because of their strong partnerships with local employers, an OTC can deliver immediate and lasting impact to prepare workers for real-world job opportunities and requirements. “With 50 centers across the state, OTCs provide adult learners with the training and credentials required for the most in-demand jobs, offering a direct pathway to employment and career advancement. Each year, nearly 25,000 adults enroll in OTC programs. The most recent program completion and job placement rates were 82% and 97%, respectively.”

Example Certificates at OTCs for Manufacturing

  • Welding Technology Certificate:  Offered at centers like the Cuyahoga Valley Career Center and Great Oaks Career Campuses, this program covers arc, MIG, and TIG welding, blueprint reading, and industrial safety. It directly correlates with jobs in fabricating, construction, and automotive manufacturing.
  • Industrial Maintenance Technician:  The Columbus State Community College and various OTCs provide this training, focusing on machinery repair, PLC programming, and hydraulic systems. It’s a core pathway for maintaining the advanced machinery found in modern manufacturing plants.
  • CNC Machining Certificate:  Available at locations such as the Butler Tech Adult Education and the Penta Career Center, this program trains students in computer numerical control (CNC) operations, blueprint reading, and precision measurement—skills essential for jobs in parts manufacturing and metalworking.
  • Manufacturing Skills Standards Council (MSSC) Certified Production Technician (CPT):  Many OTCs offer the CPT certification, which covers safety, quality practices, manufacturing processes, and maintenance awareness—a foundational credential recognized nationally by manufacturing employers.

Other Key Workforce Development Initiatives in Ohio

  • OhioMeansJobs Centers: These centers, present in every county, provide job seekers with resume workshops, career counseling, and connections to apprenticeship and certificate programs, including those tailored for manufacturing.
  • Apprenticeship Ohio: Managed by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, this initiative supports earn-and-learn models in partnership with manufacturing companies, allowing individuals to gain paid work experience while earning industry-recognized credentials.
  • TechCred: The Ohio TechCred program reimburses employers for training current and prospective employees in technology-focused certificates, including those relevant to advanced manufacturing processes.

These programs are vital in preparing Ohio’s workforce to fill high-demand manufacturing positions that require technical proficiency and adaptability. By offering stackable credentials, accessible training, and strong employer partnerships, Ohio’s workforce development ecosystem empowers residents to achieve upward mobility while helping companies remain competitive in a global market.

If every other state would follow Ohio’s example of successful programs for workforce training for manufacturing jobs, the United States would be able to close the gap of insufficient skilled workers for unfilled manufacturing jobs in 10-12 years instead of a generation.   This would enable our country to become self-sufficient again domestically for the manufactured products needed to protect the health and welfare of American citizens and the products needed to defend and protect our country.   

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What Have Been the Effects of President Trump’s Tariffs?

Tuesday, August 5th, 2025

During his campaign for re-election for President, President Trump pledged to address the unfair and unbalanced trade that the U.S. has experienced for many years.  Contrary to many politicians, President Trump kept his campaign promise by establishing an America First Trade Policy in which trade and economic policies would “put the American economy, the American worker, and our national security first.”  He announced, “I am establishing a robust and reinvigorated trade policy that promotes investment and productivity, enhances our Nation’s industrial and technological advantages, defends our economic and national security, and — above all — benefits American workers, manufacturers, farmers, ranchers, entrepreneurs, and businesses.” 

The remedies to address unfair and unbalanced trade included investigating “the causes of our country’s large and persistent annual trade deficits in goods, as well as the economic and national security implications and risks resulting from such deficits, and recommend appropriate measures, such as a global supplemental tariff or other policies, to remedy such deficits.”

As CNN Business reported, “In April, Trump imposed “reciprocal” tariffs as high as 50% on most of America’s trading partners.”. On April 9, President Donald Trump gave the world a three-month window to negotiate trade deals with the United States or face higher “reciprocal” tariffs. With just five days remaining in that tariff moratorium, the White House is expected to begin delivering a message to a dozen or so countries: Time is up, and here’s your new tariff rate.”

The article stated that Trump “told reporters that he would notify 10 to 12 nations a day over the course of the next five days, detailing their new tariffs in letters that the White House would begin sending on Friday. In most cases, the new rates would go into effect August 1, Trump said. “They’ll range in value from maybe 60% or 70% tariffs to 10% and 20% tariffs, but they’re going to be starting to go out sometime tomorrow,” Trump said. “We’ve done the final form, and it’s basically going to explain what the countries are going to be paying in tariffs.”

A July, 19, 2025, ABC News article titled, “What have Trump’s tariffs achieved so far? Experts weigh in,” Max Zahn wrote “The Trump administration touts tariffs as part of a wider set of “America First economic policies,” which have “sparked trillions of dollars in new investment in U.S. manufacturing, technology, and infrastructure,” according to the White House’s website.

The article stated, “Scores of companies have pledged new investment in the U.S., including tech giants Apple and Nvidia, pharmaceutical companies Merck and Johnson & Johnson as well as automakers Hyundai and Stellantis, the White House says. The whole idea is to encourage reshoring of manufacturing and change the balance of trade. That could all have some positive impact,” Morris Cohen, a professor emeritus of manufacturing and supply chains at Duke University, told ABC News.”

The Trump Effect page on the White House website states, “Since President Donald J. Trump returned to office, his America First economic policies have sparked trillions of dollars in new investment in U.S. manufacturing, technology, and infrastructure…The U.S. has seen a surge of private and foreign investment that are fueling job growth, innovation, and opportunity across every corner of the country. The website provides a list of the major investments by foreign countries and companies at this link.

Adding up the totals on the link comes to about 40 billion dollars. Of course, these pledges were made under threat of high tariffs, so time will tell if the companies and countries keep their pledges.

On July 29th, MSN Markets Today reported “The U.S. trade deficit in goods narrowed to the lowest level in nearly two years in June as imports fell sharply, cementing economists’ expectations that trade likely accounted for much of an anticipated rebound in economic growth in the second quarter.

The goods trade gap narrowed 10.8% to $86.0 billion last month, the lowest level since September 2023, the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the goods trade deficit would rise to $98.20 billion. Imports of goods decreased $11.5 billion, or 4.2%, to $264.2 billion, the lowest level since March 2024. The decline was led by a 12.4% plunge in consumer goods imports.” 

On Sunday, August 3, 2025, the English edition of Trending News & Research reported:  “The US government under Donald Trump is collecting more money than ever from import tariffs, with customs duty revenue crossing $100 billion in fiscal year 2025—more than double what it brought in just five years ago. Treasury and Homeland Security figures suggest the final tally could reach $300 billion by year’s end, fueled by sweeping tariffs imposed on goods from over 100 countries, including India, Brazil, Russia, China and Canada. Customs duties now make up nearly 5% of total federal revenue, up from an average of 1.6% in previous decades. July alone saw the US collect a record $28 billion in tariff duties, with economists projecting that number could climb as high as $37 billion per month from August onward, when new rate hikes take effect.”

The Bi-Partisan Policy Center Tariff Tracker shows that the U.S. has brought in $128 billion in revenue from gross tariffs and other excise taxes in 2025 as shown by the following chart.

Note: “An important caveat is that the above data represent gross tariff and certain other excise tax revenue (emphasis ours)…Net tariff revenue in recent years has been 80% to 85% of gross tariff and certain other excise tax revenue.”

The Global Business Alliance recently published a Country-By-Country Reciprocal Tariff Rates Schedule available at this link:  GBA notes “This document serves as a reference tool for country-by-country tariff rates. As they are subject to change at any time, depending on the progress of trade negotiations and President Trump’s discretion, updates to the following table will not be instantaneous. Barring any additional extensions or individual agreements, these rates are expected to go into effect on August 1, 2025.”

Of course, not everyone is happy with the tariffs. Companies that focus on selling imported goods, such as clothes, toys, consumer electronics, and electronic and electrical products are being hit the hardest due to rising costs, and small businesses that rely on imported materials from China to produce their products are also being hit hard due to rising costs.  The problem is that for some products, there are no longer any U.S. sources.

As long tariff rates get imposed, rescinded, increased or reduced, it will make inventory management complicated as businesses big and small have to decide how and when to allocate capital. They have to decide whether to stockpile inventory before more increases come down the line or do they minimize inventory to preserve cash. Larger businesses will be better able to absorb the tariff costs or negotiate alternative supply cost arrangements than small business.

It takes time, resources, and administrative skill to navigate the kinds of sweeping changes to operations that tariffs require.  Small business owners will need to navigate sourcing new suppliers, deal with increased paperwork and compliance costs, and decide how and when to use cash reserves to navigate the new playing field that tariffs require.

If international tariffs become permanent as I have recommended, they will transform business models, market dynamics, and innovation in the global economy. Tariffs will engender supply chain disruption away from previously reliable partners, modify product reformulation to use different inputs unaffected by tariffs, and strategic repositioning in the market based on new cost structures. It’s going to become crucial to build relationships with domestic suppliers.

One of the goals of tariffs is to help domestic industries expand as it pushes consumers to buy from U.S. brands. The danger is that tariffs may lead to higher domestic prices as imports become more expensive, competition is reduced, and prices increase as U.S. companies are able to charge more.

We will likely see a faster adoption of automation and utilization of AI to offset input costs and domestic alternatives to imported materials. This will create new business opportunities for U.S. manufacturers. 

This transition to a new global playing field maybe difficult for some, but it is necessary if the U S. ever hopes to become self-sufficient again in producing the goods we need to protect the health and welfare of all Americans and remain an independent nation by protecting our national security and sovereignty.

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America’s Inventor Lady

Wednesday, April 9th, 2025

Recently, I had the pleasure of connecting with Rita Crompton, known as America’s Inventor Lady after a referral from a mutual friend who thought we had common interests because of my being involved with the San Diego Inventors Forum for about 15 years.

I asked if she had ever invented anything herself, and she said she hasn’t. I told her I hadn’t invented anything for which I had received a patent although I had developed ideas for produces in the past.  She said that she got that moniker because of her work in helping inventors get their ideas out of their heads and into the marketplace (from “mind to market”, as she says), as well as helping them get licensing agreements once their ideas are ready for the markets. She’s plied her trade in this fashion for more than the past 20 years.  I told her that I use my expertise in manufacturing to help guide inventors on how to select the right manufacturing processes and sources.

Prior to her work with inventors, she published murder mysteries, tutored middle school and high school students, and continued in volunteer capacities with various charities and professional associations with which she was affiliated. 

While she lived in Chicago for many years, she also spent time in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Marietta, Georgia, Denver, Colorado and, now, her current residence, in Eastern Tennessee.

When she moved to Denver, as a Gold Star member of the Denver Chamber of Commerce she encountered professional inventors, including three “ex-rocket scientists,” one of whom, Warren Roh, became her a mentor and trained her in the art of first finding, and successfully consummating licensing deals for inventor clients. 

In February of 2006, she and Warren Roh started The Inventors’ Roundtable™, an inventing roundtable forum which nurtured a large network of inventors in Colorado’s Front Range.   One of the main complaints the older inventors had of the local group was the cost to be a member and the overload of service providers.  Rita promised the three older inventors who helped start the Inventors Roundtable 17 years ago that it would always be free and service providers would be by invitation only and that is still true. 

After her recent relocation to Del Rio, Tennessee, and the Covid Pandemic, the IRT meetings changed to virtual meetings.  This allows the IRT to serve any inventor (rural, city or suburb) from the comfort of their home to join in, ask questions and share successes and challenges with each other.   The 2nd Thursday of the month is the IRT Virtual West and the 4th Monday of the month is the IRT Virtual East. However, anyone from anywhere can join the meeting via the posted link. 

She explained.  “The Inventors’ Roundtable is, and has always been, a free, safe environment where inventors learn about the invention process, how to protect their invention and how to get their idea to market. Service providers, by invitation only, donate their time to the inventors once a month. In addition, experienced and successful inventors mentor those just getting started learning the inventing process.”

She also spoke about her own company, FLeCusa International.  “I started FLeCusa in 2007 to help the little guy, the solo and newbie inventors”, she told me.  She said “I did it to provide a unique service to those clients, almost all of whom are without the resources available to a large corporation, but many of whom nevertheless wish to enter the marketplace or grow their business to a new level, both nationally or internationally. “In that sense, I’m kind of the inventor’s advocate, assisting to help level the playing field between them and larger, more resource-rich companies.”

She added, “My goal is to bring the corporate environment resources to the individual inventor.  I help inventors understand the inventing process, bring their invention to market, establish distribution networks, protect their intellectual property and treat their invention like a business.  My husband is my partner and he works with me in the business using his skill sets as both a transactional attorney (i.e., to prepare contracts) and part-time webmaster, using his experience with social media to manage my internet outreach and to drive traffic to my websites.  In the end, I am the inventor’s advocate to help level the playing field.

As a licensing agent, Rita gets paid when the inventor gets paid.  There is no up-front fee because she can’t promise a deal any better than other licensing company.  Rita generally focuses on consumer products.  However, she will work in Home Health Care and with environmental safety products.  “Last year a young woman who had Early Onset Parkinson and had a feeding tube through high school and college.  That feeding tube caused a horrible rash on the skin.  This was a huge problem for anyone needing a feeding tube to survive.  The inventor went to college, became a chemist, and proceeded to invent a solution to her problem.  Within a few weeks of filing the patent using one of registered patent attorneys I know, we licensed the new product to the company that makes the feeding tubes.  They had known about the problem for decades but never had a solution.  The product is now sold worldwide.”   

Rita wrote the Inventors Galaxy Guide, which she updates regularly.  The 2025 edition is ready this week. It can be downloaded for free by subscribing to the Invent America Newsletter at www.AmericasInventorLady.com.  This tool is a simple guide to help inventors understand the steps of the inventing process and the parameters for the costs at each stage. 

In March of 2024, Rita, her daughter, Kat, and her husband started going to the shows produced by ASD Market Week (Affordable Shopping Destination), which are held in March in Las Vegas, NV.  ASD Market Week is the largest wholesale retail merchandise show in the U.S. They take up to 25 inventors with them to the show each year.  “ASD Market Week was amazing this year.  We had one inventor with an athletic training tool.  We had no idea that an NFL licensing agent would be at the show with his own invention wanting to join us.  He now has three of our ASD products for his team to consider.  You just never know who will be at a show and take your product to the next level” 

I asked her how she got to have a radio show.  She said, “The HomeTalk USA radio has been on coast-to-coast radio program for more than 25 years. It is the longest running DIY radio talk show in history. Invent America Radio has been part of it for two and a half years, and ASD Market Week is one of the sponsors of our show.  It is free for inventors to be on the show, so if any inventors are interested, they can email her at rita@americasinventorlady.com.”

She mentioned that at this month’s Inventor’s Roundtable meeting, the speaker is a counselor on the R&D tax credit, who will discuss how an inventor can get a R & D tax credit after the inventor starts making money on his product.  The R&D tax credit can go back three years.  Join her for the upcoming Inventors Roundtable Meeting (it’s free!) and learn how to let the U.S. Government help you take advantage of the new R&D tax credit to recover some of the cost of getting your idea up and running.

In conclusion, we agreed that the best help inventors could get now would be to have Congress pass a Patent Reform Bill that would restore inventors’ rights and end abuses by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).  Hopefully, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) will reintroduce HR 8134, the Restoring America’s Leadership in Innovation Act (RALIA) that didn’t get out of committee last year to be voted on by the whole of Congress.

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Is Reshoring Making a Difference and Increasing?

Wednesday, March 12th, 2025

Because the U.S. trade deficit in goods and services continues to surge, many people wonder if reshoring is really happening and whether it is having a beneficial effect and increasing.

According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the U.S. trade deficit surged to a new record in January.  The “goods and services deficit was $131.4 billion in January,” ballooning up by 34% from December’s deficit of $98.1 billion.  “This was the widest deficit for a month on record, dating back to 1992, and the expansion was more than analysts anticipated.”

As usual, China ($29.7) topped the list of countries with which we have trade deficits. The other top ten were the “European Union ($25.5), Switzerland ($22.8), Mexico ($15.5), Ireland ($12.4), Vietnam ($11.9), Canada ($11.3), Germany ($7.6), Taiwan ($7.5), [and] Japan ($7.4).”

The good news is that reshoring is increasing and improving our country’s self-sufficiency capacity for goods essential to our economy and national security according to a number of recent surveys and reports.

The article titled, “The Rise of Onshore Manufacturing” in the January-February 2025 issue of Design2part magazine, reports that “Research released in November by global management consultancy Bain & Company revealed an acceleration in strategic reshoring moves by businesses worldwide—to shift operations and supply chains closer to their home markets…The survey found that the percentage of CEOs and chief operating officers who reported their companies are planning to bring supply chains closer to market rose from 63 percent of those surveyed in 2022, to 81 percent in 2024—a sharp 18 percent increase…Survey results show that the proportion of companies reporting moves to shift operations out of China rose from 55 percent in 2022, to 69 percent in 2024.”

The research stated “Factors such as geopolitical turbulence, rising costs, and pressures for reduced carbon footprints are fueling the trend toward onshoring” In addition, “reshoring as having been further stimulated by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The IRA offers U.S. companies subsidies and tax credits that incentivize reshoring and near-shoring to boost domestic manufacturing and job creation…Moves toward reshoring of semiconductor manufacturing have also been intensified by the U.S. CHIPS Act, which put in place tax incentives and $52 billion in funding to stimulate U.S. domestic production of chips.”

The results of this research are corroborated by “Kearney’s 2024 annual Reshoring Index (KRI) report, which “concludes that as reshoring and nearshoring activity increase, ‘Made in America, for America’…describes the foreseeable future of industrial manufacturing in the Western hemisphere.”

The KRI was launched in 2018 to track the extent to which manufacturers are reshoring manufacturing from Asia back to the US.  “The Reshoring Index is determined by dividing the import of manufactured goods from the 14 Asian low-cost countries by the US domestic gross manufacturing output to calculate a manufacturing import ratio (MIR)”

Based on data from 2023, the report showed “US imports from 14 Asian LCCRs declined by $143 billion, from $1,021 billion in 2022 to $878 billion in 2023. The majority of the drop in Asian LCCR imports was caused by a 20 percent (or $105 billion) reduction in Chinese imports.” However, “Mexico surpassed mainland China as the largest exporter to the US. US imports of Mexican manufacturing goods grew from $320 billion to $422 billion (32 percent).”

The Kearny report also stated: “Thirty-eight percent of manufacturing executives responding are looking to continue to reshore or nearshore operations from mainland China, while another 25 percent are discussing moving operations away from India, and 14 percent are thinking about exiting Vietnam.”

The organization that originated the term “reshoring” is the Reshoring Initiative founded by Harry Moser in 2010 to help manufacturers return manufacturing to the U. S. by changing the mindset from “offshored is cheaper” to “local reduces the Total Cost of Ownership.” A Free Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) worksheet calculator is available at www.reshorenow.org.

The latest e-news by the Reshoring Initiative includes this link to take the annual industry-wide Reshoring Survey that examines manufacturers’ decisions on whether to reshore factories and supply chains. The results of the survey will be released in April.

Last year’s report featuring 2023 data showed that reshoring is continuing to climb, adding 263,583 jobs, the second highest year on record compared to 349,408 jobs in 2022.  The preliminary data for 2024 is 244,940.  The website reports “As of March 2023, we have recorded over 6400 cases of manufacturing companies that have brought work back to the U.S.” The total number of jobs created by reshoring and FDI came to 1,214,3343 at the end of 2024. 

Reprinted with permission of the Reshoring Initiative

We lost 5.8 million jobs between 2000 to 2020, and it’s taken 11 years to add the first million jobs, but only three years to add the second million.  Even at the current faster rate, it would take at least another 12-15 years to recoup the 3.8 million jobs we lost.

The key findings of the 2024 report were:

  • Geopolitical Risk is a top driving force in the reshoring and FDI trends.
  • Skilled workforce is another top factor
  • The Southern U.S. remains the most competitive manufacturing region
  • Nearshoring and trade with allies are becoming more prevalent in the shifting global dynamics
  • Wall Street is embracing reshoring, with mentions in earnings calls up sharply and
  • a 300% increase in spending on reshoring and FDI data

Foreign Direct Investment refers to foreign companies either investing in the U.S. by expanding existing U.S. plants or building new plants.

The report noted:

  • Israel – “the October 7 Hamas attack was too late in 2023 to impact 2023 data, but we anticipate it will have a ripple effect across various industries with broad economic and supply chain disruptions that will influence costs, availability of materials, and production schedules.”
  • Taiwan – “U. S. Chinese tension has been mounting for several years. Geopoliticians and corporate strategists are anticipating reshoring as insurance.”
  • China – China has the highest combination of huge trade dependency, single sourcing and geopolitical risk. Reshoring and FDI from China are near historical highs, with reshoring alone at an all-time high of 87%.”

Since these geo-political threats have only increased in the past year, there is a greater incentive to consider reshoring.  According to this report, the number of CEOs actively reshoring went from under 10% in 2012 to nearly 90% in 2023.

The latest e-news from the Reshoring Initiative states:  “the mere threat of tariffs seems to be doing a sufficient job of defining the objective: the U.S. must boost domestic manufacturing to strengthen national security, reduce the trade deficit, and support economic stability. And the Trump administration appears serious about making that happen.  Regardless of how tariffs are implemented, the pressure is driving companies to rethink their supply chains and commit to localization.” 

However, the e-news cautions: “While the mere threat of tariffs could be enough to firm up some of the plans, many projects will only move forward when the tariffs are in place and likely to remain in place for at least the next four years. As Michael Todd Speetzen?of Polaris said, “We have a presence that we would be able to leverage if we viewed this as a more permanent situation.”  The Reshoring Initiative’s industrial policy says that if tariffs are used, they should be “forever” or at least until trade in the product or with the other country becomes balanced. Companies will not make large investments if the rules are likely to change.” 

While tariffs are being criticized by economists and those who would be subject to the tariffs, it appears that tariffs could become the major driver of reshoring by American manufacturers. It could also accelerate Foreign Direct Investment as more foreign companies expand existing plants in the U.S. or build new manufacturing plants in the U.S. to avoid tariffs.

Some economists say that tariffs protect and prop up inefficient American manufacturers that should be allowed to fail if they can’t compete against foreign competitors.

I agree with the Victor Davis Hanson’s opinion about President Trump’s tariffs in his article, “Are Trump’s Tariffs Really Tariffs?”  He wrote, Consider the various Trump “tariffs” leveled by an exasperated, and now $36 trillion-indebted, America. Almost none of them meet the traditional definitions of an industry-protecting tariff. Instead, they are the last-gasp tools of American leverage used only when decades of bipartisan diplomacy, summits, entreaties, and empty threats have all failed…The Trump tariffs are the last, desperate effort to reestablish global reciprocity and keep America safe.”

American manufacturers have had to compete on an unlevel playing field in international trade for decades.  We need to do whatever it takes to rebuild our manufacturing industry to ensure that we have the commercial and military/defense products needed to keep Americans healthy and safe. If tariffs would level the playing field for American manufacturers and accelerate reshoring significantly, I’m all in favor of implementing tariffs until our trade is balanced.

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What Executive Orders has President Trump Signed to Help Rebuild American Manufacturing?

Tuesday, January 28th, 2025

In his first week in office, President Trump has already signed several Executive Orders that will implement various strategies to support and enhance the manufacturing sector in the United States.  This article highlights the E.O.s that relate to the orders I recommended in my December article, “Rebuilding American Manufacturing Through Executive Orders.”

The White House website provides a detailed list of Executive Orders that President Trump signed in the first 100 hours of his second term as president.  The introduction highlighted the following:

  • “President Trump declared a National Energy Emergency to unlock America’s full energy potential and bring down costs for American families.
  • President Trump rescinded every one of Joe Biden’s industry-killing, pro-China, and anti-American energy regulations, empowering consumer choice in vehicles, showerheads, toilets, washing machines, lightbulbs, and dishwashers.
  • President Trump withdrew the United States from the disastrous Paris Climate Agreement that unfairly ripped off our country.
  • President Trump terminated Biden’s harmful electric vehicle mandate.”

The most important Executive Order that will benefit American manufacturing is AMERICA FIRST TRADE POLICY, signed January 20, 2025

The following provisions specifically take the actions that I recommended in my December article to begin to protect manufacturers from unfair trade practices.

Sec. 2.  Addressing Unfair and Unbalanced Trade.  (a)  The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the United States Trade Representative, shall investigate the causes of our country’s large and persistent annual trade deficits in goods, as well as the economic and national security implications and risks resulting from such deficits, and recommend appropriate measures, such as a global supplemental tariff or other policies, to remedy such deficits.

(h)  The Secretary of Commerce shall review policies and regulations regarding the application of antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) laws, including with regard to transnational subsidies, cost adjustments, affiliations, and “zeroing …

(i)  The Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing, in consultation with the United States Trade Representative, shall assess the loss of tariff revenues and the risks from importing counterfeit products and contraband drugs, e.g., fentanyl, that each result from the current implementation of the $800 or less, duty-free de minimis exemption under section 1321 of title 19, United States Code, and shall recommend modifications as warranted to protect both the revenue of the United States and the public health by preventing unlawful importations.

Sec. 3. Economic and Trade Relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

b)  The United States Trade Representative shall assess the May 14, 2024, report entitled “Four-Year Review of Actions Taken in the Section 301 Investigation:  China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation” and consider potential additional tariff modifications as needed under section 2411 of title 19, United States Code — particularly with respect to industrial supply chains and circumvention through third countries, including an updated estimate of the costs imposed by any unfair trade practices identified in such review — and he shall recommend such actions as are necessary to remediate any issues identified in connection with this process.

(d)  The Secretary of Commerce and the United States Trade Representative shall assess legislative proposals regarding Permanent Normal Trade Relations with the PRC and make recommendations regarding any proposed changes to such legislative proposals.”

I was hoping that he would immediately issue an Executive Order to implement the 10 and 20 percent blanket tariff on all U.S. goods imports and at least a 60 percent tariff on all Chinese goods. It’s also important to expand Section 232 tariffs to other key industries besides steel and aluminum.

In a press release of January 24, 2025, “The Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) has formally called on President Trump to take immediate action to address Mexico’s ongoing violations of its commitments under the 2019 Joint Steel and Aluminum Agreement. In a letter delivered to the White House today, CPA urged the reinstatement of Section 232 tariffs on Mexico and outlined a series of measures to strengthen the U.S. steel and aluminum industries, which are being severely undermined by surging imports from Mexico and other nations.”

Another very important Executive Order UNLEASHING AMERICAN ENERGY EXECUTIVE ORDER, signed January 20, 2025, addresses my recommendation to provide access to affordable energy.  Key provisions are:

“Sec. 2.  Policy.  It is the policy of the United States:

(a)  to encourage energy exploration and production on Federal lands and waters, including on the Outer Continental Shelf, in order to meet the needs of our citizens and solidify the United States as a global energy leader long into the future;

(b)  to establish our position as the leading producer and processor of non-fuel minerals, including rare earth minerals, which will create jobs and prosperity at home, strengthen supply chains for the United States and its allies, and reduce the global influence of malign and adversarial states;

(c)  to protect the United States’s economic and national security and military preparedness by ensuring that an abundant supply of reliable energy is readily accessible in every State and territory of the Nation;”

I was delighted to see that he signed this Executive Order that would allow us to dramatically increase energy production” to reduce energy costs  as it will be a great benefit to American manufacturers.

Another important Executive Order was REMOVING BARRIERS TO AMERICAN LEADERSHIP IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE on January 23, 2025

Section 1. Purpose. The United States has long been at the forefront of artificial intelligence (AI) innovation, driven by the strength of our free markets, world-class research institutions, and entrepreneurial spirit. To maintain this leadership, we must develop AI systems that are free from ideological bias or engineered social agendas. With the right Government policies, we can solidify our position as the global leader in AI and secure a brighter future for all Americans.

This order revokes certain existing AI policies and directives that act as barriers to American AI innovation, clearing a path for the United States to act decisively to retain global leadership in artificial intelligence.

Sec. 4. Developing an Artificial Intelligence Action Plan. (a) Within 180 days of this order, the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology (APST), the Special Advisor for AI and Crypto, and the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (APNSA), in coordination with the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB Director), and the heads of such executive departments and agencies (agencies) as the APST and APNSA deem relevant, shall develop and submit to the President an action plan to achieve the policy set forth in section 2 of this order.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is very important to helping American manufacturers implement the Industry 4.0 technologies of automation, robotics, supply chain management, production planning, forecasting and creating digital twins.  Utilization of these technologies helps American manufacturers be more competitive in the global marketplace.

The White House website also quoted the initial reactions of key industrial organizations to President Trump’s Executive Orders as follows:

The Steel Manufacturers Association: “President Trump has repeatedly demonstrated his strong support for American steel workers. He reiterated that support on day one by directing his agencies to investigate unfair trade and its impact on domestic manufacturing.”

American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers President and CEO Chet Thompson: “President Trump promised to end gas car bans and vehicle mandates on Day 1 of his new administration, and we are pleased to see that work already underway. Thank you, President Trump.”

American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Mike Sommers: “Americans sent a clear message at the ballot box, and President Trump is answering the call on Day 1. U.S. energy dominance will drive our nation’s economic and security agenda. This is a new day for American energy, and we applaud President Trump for moving swiftly to chart a new path where U.S. oil and natural gas are embraced, not restricted.”

Job Creators Network CEO Alfredo Ortiz: “Trump’s two-fold approach of boosting oil and gas production and repealing the Biden administration’s green energy mandates will make American energy cheaper, reliable and more efficient.”

In his Remarks delivered via teleconference to the World Economic Forum on January 23, 2025, President Trump stated some of the other things he has done that will benefit American manufacturing:

“I terminated the ridiculous and incredibly wasteful Green New Deal — I call it the “Green New Scam”; withdrew from the one-sided Paris Climate Accord; and ended the insane and costly electric vehicle mandate.  We’re going to let people buy the car they want to buy. 

     I declared a …national energy emergency to unlock the liquid gold under our feet and pave the way for rapid approvals of new energy infrastructure.  The United States has the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on Earth, and we’re going to use it. 

     Not only will this reduce the cost of virtually all goods and services, it will make the United States a manufacturing superpower and the world capital of artificial intelligence and crypto.

     My administration has also begun the largest deregulation campaign in history, far exceeding even the record-setting efforts of my last term. 

     In total, the Biden administration imposed $50,000 in additional regulatory costs on the average American household over the last four years.  I have promised to eliminate 10 old regulations for every new regulation, which will soon put many thousands of dollars back in the pockets of American families.”

President Trump is off to a good start towards achieving his goal to Make American Great Again by rebuilding American manufacturing to strengthen our country’s economic resilience and end dependence on foreign nations. These actions will protect our national security and create a more prosperous future for our country now and for our children and grandchildren.

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What Legislation Should Congress Pass to Help Rebuild American Manufacturing?

Tuesday, January 14th, 2025

Now that the 119th Congress began less than two weeks ago, the priorities for Republican who have a slight majority in Congress on passing legislation that fulfills their campaign promise to support President’s Trump goal to Make America Great Again.  To achieve this goal, Congress must pass legislation that helps rebuild American manufacturing.

As a reminder of why this is critical, manufacturing is the foundation of the middle class because manufacturing jobs pay higher wages than most service and retail jobs, enabling more American to move into the middle class during the 1900s. Manufacturing employment was at an all-time peak of 19.6 million in June 1979, representing 22 percent of the labor force. The loss of millions of manufacturing jobs in this century has resulted in a shrinking middle class. The loss of these jobs also means a loss of tax revenue, increasing our national debt.

The domestic manufacture of innovative new technologies is what enabled the United States to become the leader of the free world.  A secure domestic manufacturing supply chain is critical to maintaining our national sovereignty to remain a free country. We need to rebuild American manufacturing to create prosperity for our children and grandchildren.  

Here are my suggestions for legislation that should be passed by Congress in order of importance:

Impose a Market Access Charge (MAC) as proposed by Dr. John R Hansen, (PhD economist and  Economic Advisor, The World Bank (retd.)  “forcing foreigners to pay a market access charge (MAC) if they want to dump their speculative money into America’s financial markets when US trade deficits show that the global demand for dollars and dollar-based assets like stocks and bonds is already excessive. In addition to encouraging the dollar to move to a more competitive level, thus boosting economic growth and family incomes, the MAC could also generate hundreds of billion dollars of new government revenue per year.

The MAC would start low, rise gradually until foreign demand for dollars was consistent with balanced trade, and thereafter be adjusted periodically to maintain balanced trade. The MAC charge, which is fully legal under US and international law… Even a very low rate of say 1.5 percent, the MAC, which would be paid entirely by foreign speculators, not Americans, could generate over $1 trillion dollars of new revenue per year. This could gradually be used to eliminate the U.S. deficit…and to start paying down America’s total internal and external debts.

John emailed me this comment: “We should regard the MAC as a tariff on the import of foreign money — just as regular tariffs are a tax on the import of foreign goods. A MAC tariff would create millions of new, well-paying jobs and would give the U.S. Government billons of additional revenues, all paid out of the pockets of foreigners, that could be used to:

  1. increase the quality and adequacy of government services for all Americans.
  2. reduce the burden of taxes paid by Americans.

Note that, unlike traditional tariffs on imports which increase U.S. prices, especially in the short term, the MAC would be paid entirely by foreigners. Furthermore, unlike tariffs that only restrict imports (by making them more expensive for Americans), the MAC would also stimulate exports and American jobs by making made-in-America products more competitive in foreign markets.

The American jobs that the MAC would create would emerge not only in crowded urban areas, but also in the poverty-stricken regions of America where, as President Trump mentioned in his 2017 inaugural address, “rusted-out factories are scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation,” especially affecting the poor workers who lost their jobs due to the China Shock.

Likewise, by making grown-in-America food and other agricultural products more competitive with competing foreign goods, the MAC would help reverse the sharp deterioration of family incomes on American farms and ranches.

Finally, passing legislation for the MAC would also help America reduce its mountain of government debt — debt that threatens the stability of our country today and the quality of life for our children tomorrow.”

Pass a Patent Reform Bill to restore inventors’ rights and end abuses by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). 

The largest inventors’ organization, US Inventors, supported the passage of the following bill in the last session of Congress:  HR 8134, the Restoring America’s Leadership in Innovation Act (RALIA), introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH).

RALIA sought to revitalize patent protection by restoring injunctive relief, eliminating confusing judicially created eligibility tests, and abolishing the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). RALIA would have reversed the effects of several Supreme Court decisions and of the America Invents Act, largely repairing most of the erosion of US patent rights accumulated over the last several decades. US Inventors urges Congress to pass the reintroduction of this bill in this session of Congress.

It would be nice for the USPTO to get refocused on its mission to ensure that the intellectual property system contributes to a strong global economy, encourages investment in innovation, and fosters an entrepreneurial spirit.

Revoke China’s Most Favored Nation Status (aka Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR)

After President Clinton granted China Most Favored Nation Status annually from 1995 on, the U.S.Senate voted to give China permanent most-favored-nation status on September 19, 2000, and on October 10th, 2000, President Clinton signed into law the U.S.-China Relations Act of 2000. This paved the way for China’s accession to the World Trade Organization.  This started the trend of American manufacturers moving manufacturing to Chinese vendors and the huge influx of imported good from China flooding the U.S. when tariffs were drastically reduced.

Our trade deficit with China increased every year from $83.8 Billion in the year 2000 to $279.1 Billion in 2023 (projected to be about the same for 2024). This was down from a peak trade deficit with China in 2018 of $418.2 Billion.

In my article, “We must Revoke China’s Most Favored Nation Status, I wrote that during the 118th Congress, “several bills have been introduced to revoke or modify China’s Most Favored Nation (MFN) status, also known as Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR)” but none of the bills were passed out of Committee to be voted on by the House or Senate.

Passing such a bill should be a major priority for the 119th Congress as soon as possible. Without PNTR status, all products from China would by default be subject to higher tariffs. This would reduce off-shoring by discouraging American investors and corporations from doing business in China. It would increase reshoring and diminish demand for Chinese goods, bolstering the sales of American manufactured products.

Reduce the Allowed Value of De Minimis imports

De Minimis imports was codified in Section 321 of the Tariff Act of 1930 as an administrative exemption for imports under $1. However, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, signed by President Barack Obama Feb. 24,  2016, “ raised the value of a shipment of merchandise imported by one person on one day that generally may be imported free of duties and taxes from $200 to $800.

This allows foreign vendors, such as Temu, Shein, and Amazon vendors, to ship directly into the United States. When a package receives de minimis treatment, it arrives without the need of a customs broker or bond, without paying any tariffs or taxes, and without meaningful possibility of regulatory oversight.

The Coalition for a Prosperous America states: “U.S. companies and workers are subjected to a new level of job-destroying competition. Illicit drugs, such as fentanyl, and counterfeit goods are shipped directly to US consumers while evading detection. The predictable result is a major calamity putting U.S. producers and traditional retailers out of business and destroying jobs.” CPA urges “Congress to lower the de minimis threshold to $9 among other reforms.”

Reauthorize a Reformed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA)

Major provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 will expire by the end of 2025, so American families and business could experience dramatic increases in taxes in 2026.

Since manufacturers require affordable taxes to succeed and grow, reform and reauthorization of TCJA is imperative.

The Tax Foundation recommends that Congress “prioritize provisions that have the largest “bang for the buck,” or the most economic growth per dollar of revenue loss. These include immediate cost recovery for investments in the types of machinery and equipment upon which millions of small and large businesses depend, as well as immediate write-offs for investments in research and development. These two policy changes support a growing economy like no other tax policies proposed since the corporate tax rate was reduced from 35 percent to 21 percent.”

While the reduction in corporate taxes was a big benefit to large corporations, it was actually a tax increase from 15% to 21% for small business and small manufacturers.  The fabrication companies I represent as a sales rep all saw this increase in their corporate taxes because they generated revenues under $10 million a year.

President Trumps’s proposal for a 15% corporate tax rate should be seriously considered.  Read the Cato Institute’s “The Case for Trump’s 15 Percent Corporate Tax Rate” here. 

Pass Legislation to Address China’s Exploitation of U.S. Capital Markets, Economic Incentives, and Trade Policy

Several bills to address the problem of China’s exploitation of U.S. capital markets were introduced in the 118th Congress, but none of them were passed out of committee to be voted on by the House or Senate. For a full list of this legislative package, go to this link of the website of the Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) as there is insufficient space in this article to describe all of these bills.  All of these bills will have to be introduced in the 119th Congress.  As a long-time member of CPA, I join them in urging Congress to pass a legislative package that will “prohibit U.S. capital, economic incentives, and trade preferences from benefitting China and other adversarial nations.” 

Passage of the legislation mentioned in this article would help stop the destruction of American industry and innovation, the loss of high-paying manufacturing jobs, and the collapse of communities. It would d be a big help in rebuilding American manufacturing’s capacity and eliminate dependence on China and other adversarial nations.  It would especially help rebuild manufacturing capacity in industries that are critical to U.S. economic and national security. It would help to create prosperity for our children and grandchildren and ensure that they will continue to live in a free country. 

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Rebuilding American Manufacturing Through Executive Orders

Tuesday, December 17th, 2024

President Trump has the authority to take significant action to rebuild American manufacturing through executive orders. By utilizing his executive powers, President Trump can implement various strategies to support and enhance the manufacturing sector in the United States.  In my article, “What do Manufacturers Need to Succeed and Grow?, I highlighted several policies that would help rebuild American manufacturing.  This article points out some actions that President Trump could take to rebuild American manufacturing through executive orders:

Protect Manufacturers from Unfair Trade Practices:  In his first term, President Trump used executive orders to implement tariffs on imports from certain countries. Trump has said he would fulfill a campaign promise to levy tariffs on imports from America’s biggest trading partners immediately. 

During his presidential campaign, Trump promised to impose between a 10 and 20 percent blanket tariff on all $3 trillion worth of U.S. goods imports and at least a 60 percent tariff on all Chinese goods.

In a Truth Social post  on November 25, 2014, Trump promised to implement 25 percent tariffs on Day One on all goods from Canada and Mexico until they clamp down on drugs and migrants crossing the border. He also promises an additional 10 percent tariff on all Chinese goods unless China implements the death penalty for all drug dealers linked to fentanyl.

By continuing to use tariffs strategically, President Trump could protect American industries from unfair competition and create a level playing field for domestic manufacturers.

Reduce Regulatory Burdens: President Trump could issue executive orders aimed at streamlining regulations that hinder the growth of American manufacturing. By cutting red tape and eliminating unnecessary regulatory burdens, businesses would be able to operate more efficiently and invest in expanding their manufacturing capabilities.

President Trump could end the Biden administration’s “electric vehicle mandate.” Biden’s EPA implemented limits on climate pollution from passenger cars, pushing for electric vehicles to make up two-thirds of new car sales by 2032.

Provide Access to Affordable Energy:  President Trump could keep a campaign promise he made during a speech in Michigan to “declare a national emergency to allow us to dramatically increase energy production” in an effort to reduce energy costs.  On Day One, he could issue an Executive Order to  “approve new drilling, new pipelines, new refineries, new power plants, new reactors and  slash the red tape.”  His oft-stated campaign vow to “drill, baby, drill” and “frack, frack, frack” would open up all American sites for oil drilling and fracking.

In a campaign speech on May 11, 2024, Trump swore he would end offshore wind projects on Day One,  “They ruin the environment, they kill the birds, they kill the whales.”

Promote Buy American Policies: President Trump could issue an executive order prioritizing the use of American-made products in federal procurement and infrastructure projects. By mandating the use of domestically produced goods, the demand for American manufacturing would increase, leading to the growth of the sector.

In addition to these important actions, President Trump could use executive orders to do the following:

Invest in Workforce Development: Establish programs that promote workforce development in the manufacturing industry. By providing funding for training programs and apprenticeships, the administration could ensure that the American workforce has the skills needed to drive innovation and growth in manufacturing.

Support Research and Development: Increase funding for research and development in key manufacturing sectors, such as advanced manufacturing, robotics, and clean energy. By investing in innovation, the administration could help American manufacturers stay competitive in the global market.

Establish Manufacturing Task Forces: President Trump could create executive orders to establish task forces or councils dedicated to addressing the challenges facing the American manufacturing sector. These task forces could bring together industry leaders, policymakers, and experts to develop strategies and initiatives to support the growth of manufacturing in the United States.

By taking decisive action through executive orders, President Trump has the opportunity to revitalize American manufacturing and strengthen the country’s economic resilience. Through a combination of policies that promote domestic production, support workforce development, and encourage innovation, the administration can help rebuild American manufacturing and create a more prosperous future for the industry.

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