Posts for July 23, 2010

UMA MEMBERS IN THE NEWS

NUCOR RETURNS TO PROFIT AS SALES SURGE

July 23, 2010 – Today in Manufacturing.net

Steel manufacturer said it returned to a profit in the second quarter as sales jumped 69 percent on higher average prices ... continue

NAM-SUPPORTED CAPITAL INVESTMENT INCENTIVES ADVANCE

July 23, 2010 – NAM Capital Briefing

A new substitute amendment by Senators Reid (D-NV), Baucus (D-MT), and Landrieu (D-LA) to Small Business Jobs bill H.R. 5297 was released July 21. It includes business capital investment incentives of extending bonus depreciation and increased expensing. Specifically, bonus depreciation, available to all size companies, would be extended for one year through 2010 applicable to capital investments, such as purchases of machinery, equipment and computer software placed in service in 2010, and Section 179 expensing for small companies would be increased to the first $500,000 of capital investment for total investment purchases less than $2 million in 2010 and 2011. Click here for details and summary of the new amendment. The new amendment is the second to be offered within a month to H.R. 5297, which is pending on the Senate floor with final action intended to be completed next week. Both proposals were included in the earlier substitute amendment introduced last month. Details: Monica McGuire, (202) 637-3076.

NAM OPPOSES SUPERFUND TAX

July 23, 2010 – NAM Capital Briefing

In a July 20 letter to the full House and Senate, the NAM expressed strong opposition to current efforts by the Administration and Congress to re-impose $19 billion in Superfund taxes on American businesses. Manufacturers in particular would be hard-hit by the proposal, which includes a per-barrel tax on crude oil and petroleum products as well as an excise tax on feedstock chemicals and a general corporate tax rate increase. NAM Vice President for Tax and Domestic Economic Policy Dorothy Coleman said that imposing an anti-manufacturing, anti-growth tax increase on companies at this time could further stifle our fragile economy and make manufacturers even less competitive in the global marketplace. In addition, there is no evidence that the clean-up of so-called Superfund sites has been delayed or otherwise negatively impacted since the tax expired in 1995. Because of the importance of this issue to manufacturers, the NAM has set up a Superfund Task Force.

MINER SAFETY BILL CONTAINS HARMFUL OSHA PROVISIONS

July 23, 2010 – NAM Capital Briefing

Legislation that includes the most sweeping changes to the Occupational Safety and Health Act since the 1970s is quickly advancing in the House of Representatives. The House Committee on Education and Labor held a July 21 markup hearing on the Miner Safety and Health Act (H.R. 5663), which is primarily aimed at revamping existing mine safety laws but also includes several of the most onerous provisions of the long-pending Protecting America’s Workers Act (H.R. 2067), which overhauls the workplace safety laws that apply to most manufacturers.

These provisions would make it more difficult for employers to reach settlements with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) by significantly raising the fines for alleged violations while implementing vague new criminal penalties on companies without defining how the responsibility for violations would be determined. The bill would also require manufacturers to shut down operations and immediately make corrective actions based on allegations of hazardous violations by a regional OSHA inspector prior to being able to appeal the inspector’s decision. Rather than encouraging employers in their efforts to make workplaces safer, the bill would place new costs on business and increase the threat of litigation.

This bill contains no support or assistance for employers to help them implement better safety programs or better understand their obligations. The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) led the Coalition for Workplace Safety in sending a July 20 letter to Committee members detailing the impact this would have on small and medium manufacturers. The Coalition stated, “Such compliance assistance is particularly necessary to help small businesses, who often cannot afford to maintain safety personnel or hire consultants to guide them through complicated OSHA regulations.”

The NAM has called on lawmakers to vote against this legislation that includes the harmful OSHA provisions, which will impose substantial costs on manufacturers and hinder manufacturers’ continued safety efforts by promoting an adversarial relationship between OSHA and employers.

Contact your representatives and urge them to oppose H.R. 5663, the Miner Safety and Health Act. For more information, contact NAM Director of Employment and Labor Policy Keith Smith at ksmith@nam.org or (202) 637-3045.

LEADING ECONOMIC INDICATORS FALL IN JUNE

July 23, 2010 – Today in Manufacturing.net

Gauge of future economic activity dropped in June, the second decline in past 3 months, suggesting the economic recovery will weaken ... continue

HOUSE PASSES MTB – A VICTORY FOR MANUFACTURERS, JOBS AND COMPETITIVENESS

July 23, 2010 – NAM Capital Briefing

ON July 21, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) in the U.S. Manufacturing Enhancement Act (H.R. 4380) by a vote of 378 to 43. This has been the NAM’s highest short-term trade priority and is critical to the strength of manufacturers in America and the competitiveness of the U.S. economy.

The NAM led the effort to gain bipartisan support for the MTB and was relentless in its outreach to members of Congress and their staffs. Throughout the process, the NAM’s message was consistent. As stated in a July 20 letter to Congress in support of the bill, “the MTB is one of the most important short-term actions Congress can take to preserve and expand good American jobs, cut the costs of doing business in the United States and boost American manufacturing exports. U.S. manufacturers large and small use the MTB's tariff suspension provisions to obtain raw materials, proprietary inputs and other products that are not available in our nation.”
Since hundreds of duty suspensions from the previous MTB expired in December 2009, manufacturers in the United States have been left to overcome the challenge of increased tariffs and unnecessary duties on inputs and components critical to their production processes. Without the MTB’s suspension of tariffs, companies must pay duties on these imported products, which amounts to a tax that is then passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices. In addition, these higher costs translate into lost jobs for American workers.

The MTB process is wholly transparent and open to the public. Each proposed duty suspension is subject to a meticulous and non-partisan vetting process to ensure that no domestic producers of the affected product exist. The International Trade Commission, U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Management and Budget and the congressional committees of jurisdiction collaborate to review each proposed duty suspension. Dozens of NAM member companies currently facing these tariffs have duty suspension requests that have already been vetted and cleared and will go into effect as soon as the MTB is enacted.

The MTB is primarily a jobs bill, and as the nation’s unemployment rate continues to hover near 10 percent, action is needed to get Americans back to work. The MTB will do just that. Studies show that if enacted, these provisions would increase production by $4.6 billion and support almost 90,000 jobs.

With the economy still struggling to recover, the Senate now needs to move forward on a measure that will help manufacturers grow jobs and compete in the global marketplace. The reduced tariffs achieved by the MTB will lower the final cost of products manufactured in the United States, make them more affordable for consumers at home and abroad and provide manufacturers in America with more export opportunities.

Reducing these import duties will help promote a progressive international trade policy that is an important component of the NAM’s “Manufacturing Strategy for Jobs and a Competitive America.”

In recent weeks, the NAM met with key congressional leaders to reiterate the Manufacturers’ position on the MTB. In the weeks ahead, the NAM will be meeting with Senate offices on both sides of the aisle to educate them on the importance of quick passage of the MTB.

Failure to pass the MTB is a missed opportunity to create jobs in the United States. Each day these tariffs remain in place, manufacturers in America are at a competitive disadvantage in the global economy.

Yesterday’s action is a huge victory for manufacturers in the United States, and the NAM will now urge the Senate to move quickly and pass the MTB to preserve its benefits for manufacturers. For more information on the MTB, contact NAM Director of Trade Policy Doug Goudie at dgoudie@nam.org or (202) 637-3078.

GERMAN BUSINESS CONFIDENCE UP IN JULY

July 23, 2010 – Today in Manufacturing.net

Germany's business confidence is continuing its unexpected upward trend in July, rising to 106.2 points from 101.8 points in June, posting its fifth consecutive increase... continue

FOREIGN MANUFACTURERS LEGAL ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

July 23, 2010 – NAM Capital Briefing

The House Energy and Commerce Committee reported favorably H.R. 4678, the Foreign Manufacturers Legal Accountability Act. The legislation would harm domestic manufacturing of both U.S. and foreign headquartered companies by adding costly and burdensome customs requirements and substantially altering product liability laws at the state and federal level. The NAM opposes the legislation it in its current form. The full U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on the legislation next week.