The scene inside the Home Depot on Weyman Avenue here would give the old-time American craftsman pause.
This isn’t a lament — or not merely a lament — for bygone times. It’s a social and cultural issue, as well as an economic one. The Home Depot approach to craftsmanship — simplify it, dumb it down, hire a contractor — is one signal that mastering tools and working with one’s hands is receding in America as a hobby, as a valued skill, as a cultural influence that shaped thinking and behavior in vast sections of the country.
That should be a matter of concern in a presidential election year. Yet neither Barack Obama nor Mitt Romney promotes himself as tool-savvy presidential timber, in the mold of a Jimmy Carter, a skilled carpenter and cabinet maker.
The Obama administration does worry publicly about manufacturing, a first cousin of craftsmanship. When the Ford Motor Company, for example, recently announced that it was bringing some production home, the White House cheered. “When you see things like Ford moving new production from Mexico to Detroit, instead of the other way around, you know things are changing,” says
Gene B. Sperling, director of the National Economic Council.
Ask the administration or the Republicans or most academics why America needs more manufacturing, and they respond that manufacturing spawns innovation, brings down the trade deficit, strengthens the dollar, generates jobs, arms the military and kindles a recovery from recession. But rarely, if ever, do they publicly take the argument a step further, asserting that a growing manufacturing sector encourages craftsmanship and that craftsmanship is, if not a birthright, then a vital ingredient of the American self-image as a can-do, inventive, we-can-make-anything people.
That self-image is deteriorating. And the symptoms go far beyond Home Depot. They show up in the wistful popularity of books like
“Shop Class as Soulcraft,” by Matthew B. Crawford, in TV cooking classes featuring the craftsmanship of celebrity chefs, and in shows like
“This Old House.”Traditional vocational training in public high schools is gradually declining, stranding thousands of young people who seek training for a craft without going to college. Colleges, for their part, have since 1985 graduated fewer chemical, mechanical, industrial and metallurgical engineers, partly in response to the reduced role of manufacturing, a big employer of them.
The decline started in the 1950s, when manufacturing generated a hefty 28 percent of the national income, or gross domestic product, and employed one-third of the work force. Today, factory output generates just 12 percent of G.D.P. and employs barely 9 percent of the nation’s workers.
Mass layoffs and plant closings have drawn plenty of headlines and public debate over the years, and they still occasionally do. But the damage to skill and craftsmanship — what’s needed to build a complex airliner or a tractor, or for a worker to move up from assembler to machinist to supervisor — went largely unnoticed.
“In an earlier generation, we lost our connection to the land, and now we are losing our connection to the machinery we depend on,” says
Michael Hout, a sociologist at the University of California, Berkeley. “People who work with their hands,” he went on, “are doing things today that we call service jobs, in restaurants and laundries, or in medical technology and the like.”
That’s one explanation for the decline in traditional craftsmanship. Lack of interest is another. The big money is in fields like finance. Starting in the 1980s, skill in finance grew in stature, and, as depicted in the news media and the movies, became a more appealing source of income.
By last year, Wall Street traders, bankers and those who deal in real estate generated 21 percent of the national income, double their share in the 1950s. And Warren E. Buffett, the amiable financier, became a homespun folk hero, without the tools and overalls.
“Young people grow up without developing the skills to fix things around the house,” says Richard T. Curtin, director of the
Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers. “They know about computers, of course, but they don’t know how to build them.”
Manufacturing’s shrinking presence undoubtedly helps explain the decline in craftsmanship, if only because many of the nation’s assembly line workers were skilled in craft work, if not on the job then in their spare time. In a late 1990s study of blue-collar employees at a General Motors plant (now closed) in Linden, N.J.,
the sociologist Ruth Milkman of City University of New York found that many line workers, in their off-hours, did home renovation and other skilled work.
“I have often thought,” Ms. Milkman says, “that these extracurricular jobs were an effort on the part of the workers to regain their dignity after suffering the degradation of repetitive assembly line work in the factory.”
Craft work has higher status in nations like Germany, which invests in apprenticeship programs for high school students. “Corporations in Germany realized that
there wa
s an interest to be served economically and patriotically in building up a skilled labor force at home; we never had that ethos,” says
Richard Sennett, a New York University sociologistwho has written about the connection of craft and culture.
The damage to American craftsmanship seems to parallel the precipitous slide in manufacturing employment. Though the decline started in the 1970s, it became much steeper beginning in 2000. Since then, some 5.3 million jobs, or one-third of the work force in manufacturing, have been lost. A stated goal of the Obama administration is to restore a big chunk of this employment, along with the multitude of skills that many of the jobs required.
And there is an incipient upturn in the monthly employment data, although the president will almost certainly finish his first term with the manufacturing work force well below the 12.6 million it was when his administration began. (It was nearly 11.9 million last month.)
“We sit in rooms with manufacturers who tell us that location decisions to move overseas that were previously automatic are now a close call, and that the right policies can make a difference,” Mr. Sperling says.
THAT is particularly the case if federal, state and local governments intervene with generous subsidies, like those seen in China, Germany, Japan, France, India and other countries eager to sustain manufacturing.
Government subsidies are helping to make manufacturing in America more attractive, but the turnaround may be hard to sustain. And it may be too late. Big multinationals already operate factory networks in Europe and Asia, as well as in the United States. Stepping up exports to those markets from the United States, rather than producing in them, is becoming less of an option — short of an international agreement like the Plaza Accord of 1985, which realigned currencies and gave American manufacturers a temporary boost.
As for craftsmanship itself, the issue is how to preserve it as a valued skill in the general population. Ms. Milkman, the sociologist, argues that American craftsmanship isn’t disappearing as quickly as some would argue — that it has instead shifted to immigrants. “Pride in craft, it is alive in the immigrant world,” she says.
Sol Axelrod, 37, the manager of the Home Depot here, fittingly learned to fix his own car as a teenager, even changing the brakes. Now he finds immigrant craftsmen gathered in abundance outside his store in the early morning, waiting for it to open so they can buy supplies for the day’s work as contractors. Skilled day laborers, also mostly immigrants, wait quietly in hopes of being hired by the contractors.
Mr. Axelrod also says the recession and persistently high unemployment have forced many people to try to save money by doing more themselves, and Home Depot in response offers classes in fixing faucets and other simple repairs. The teachers are store employees, many of them older and semiretired from a skilled trade, or laid off.
“Our customers may not be building cabinets or outdoor decks; we try to do that for them,” Mr. Axelrod says, “but some are trying to build up skill so they can do more for themselves in these hard times.”
Steel for America’s Military Will Once Again be ‘Made in USA’
in Government“ArcelorMittal is pleased with the Department of Defense’s decision to reinstate the longstanding requirement that steel armor plate procured for defense purposes be melted domestically. We are grateful for the support of leaders like Senator Brown who have fought tirelessly for this policy to be reinstated. This is an important decision for our hardworking employees in Ohio and nationwide. ArcelorMittal is proud to support the defense efforts of the United States through our production of steel armor plate, and we commend the Department of Defense for its decision to help ensure a vibrant industrial base in the years to come,” said John Mengel, Chief Operating Officer, ArcelorMittal USA Plate.
“As a major supplier of raw materials to the domestic steel industry, Cliffs is encouraged by the Department of Defense’s proposal to again require that all stages of steel armor plate manufacturing occur domestically. This proposed rule reflects the importance of producing strategically significant steel products in the United States from a domestic supply chain,” said Kelly Tompkins, Executive Vice President – Legal, Government Affairs and Sustainability and Chief Legal Officer at Cliffs Natural Resources Inc.
Steel armor plate is used for military vehicles, tanks, and equipment. Under DoD regulations, specialty metals procured for defense purposes—including steel armor plate—must be produced in the United States. Despite more than 35 years of legal interpretation and administrative practice requiring that specialty metals be melted in the United States, DoD in 2009—in the midst of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and during a time when the demand for steel was high—published a final rule defining the word “produced,” as it applies to armor plate under the Special Metals Amendment, to include simple finishing processes. This means that armor plate melted in foreign countries, including Russia and China, could be imported and subjected to simple finishing processes in the United States and then deemed to have been “produced” domestically.
After numerous Congressional inquiries and report language questioning DoD’s interpretation of “produced,” the FY11 National Defense Authorization Act included a provision requiring a review and, if necessary, revision of the existing regulation to ensure the definition is consistent with Congressional intent (the review was required to be completed within 270 of enactment of the law, i.e., early October 2011). On July 25, 2011, DoD published its request for comment, and the deadline for public comment was September 8, 2011. Earlier this year, Brown introduced the United States Steel and Security Act, which would have required steel armor plate to be both melted and finished in the United States, not only protecting American steel jobs, but our country’s national security. Cleveland’s ArcelorMittal manufactures steel armor plate, as does Nucor.
In September 2011, Brown—along with Sens. Richard Burr (R-NC), Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-PA), Kay Hagan (D-NC), Daniel Coats (R-IN), Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Al Franken (D-MN), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)—sent a letter to Defense Undersecretary Ashton Carter urging him to revise the Department’s requirements on steel plate. A copy of that letter can be seen here. During consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act in December 2011, Brown and Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) called for the DOD to expedite its review of this issue.
Yesterday, the DoD published in the Federal Register a proposed amendment to the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations revising the definition of “produce” as it relates to the Specialty Metals Amendment. The proposed amendment is the result of section 823 of the FY 2011 National Defense Authorization Act, in which Congress directed DoD to review the current the definition of produced to ensure its consistency with congressional intent. There will be a 60-day comment period on the proposed rule.
Cargill Recalls Ground Beef After Link to Salmonella
in UncategorizedPublished: July 23, 2012
Hannaford is offering refunds to customers who have any ground beef in their freezers bought in its stores with its store brand and stamped with sell-by dates ranging from May 29 through June 16. It has posted signs in its meat departments and on its Web site, and sent media advisories locally and nationally.
In a pop-up announcement on its Web site, Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation, which processes and distributes pork, beef and turkey products to retailers and food service outlets, said it was voluntarily recalling the meat, which it described as an 85 percent lean ground beef product.
Hannaford bought the meat in bulk from Cargill and repackaged it under its own name. It will be making refunds on all such ground beef stamped with the specified dates regardless of the fat content, a spokesman said.
Salmonella infections, which tend to be most severe among infants, older adults and the sick, can be life-threatening to those with weak immune systems. Typically, they strike within 72 hours after the consumption of tainted food. The Department of Agriculture recommends cooking meat to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit, as measured by a thermometer, to ensure against salmonella poisoning.
The department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service has been investigating an outbreak of salmonella Enteriditis, one of the most common types of salmonella serotypes, affecting 33 patients in seven states, including those where Hannaford has stores, as well as Rhode Island and Virginia. That continuing inquiry involves the health departments in those states as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Through epidemiology and by tracing purchases, investigators were able to link the illnesses of five people, two of whom had been hospitalized, to meat produced at Cargill Meat Solutions. Not all meat samples led back to a specific point of sale.
A Nation That’s Losing Its Toolbox
in UncategorizedPublished: July 21, 2012NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y.
It’s all very handy stuff, I guess, a convenient way to be a do-it-yourselfer without being all that good with tools. But at a time when the American factory seems to be a shrinking presence, and when good manufacturing jobs have vanished, perhaps never to return, there is something deeply troubling about this dilution of American craftsmanship.
That should be a matter of concern in a presidential election year. Yet neither Barack Obama nor Mitt Romney promotes himself as tool-savvy presidential timber, in the mold of a Jimmy Carter, a skilled carpenter and cabinet maker.
The Obama administration does worry publicly about manufacturing, a first cousin of craftsmanship. When the Ford Motor Company, for example, recently announced that it was bringing some production home, the White House cheered. “When you see things like Ford moving new production from Mexico to Detroit, instead of the other way around, you know things are changing,” says Gene B. Sperling, director of the National Economic Council.
Ask the administration or the Republicans or most academics why America needs more manufacturing, and they respond that manufacturing spawns innovation, brings down the trade deficit, strengthens the dollar, generates jobs, arms the military and kindles a recovery from recession. But rarely, if ever, do they publicly take the argument a step further, asserting that a growing manufacturing sector encourages craftsmanship and that craftsmanship is, if not a birthright, then a vital ingredient of the American self-image as a can-do, inventive, we-can-make-anything people.
That self-image is deteriorating. And the symptoms go far beyond Home Depot. They show up in the wistful popularity of books like “Shop Class as Soulcraft,” by Matthew B. Crawford, in TV cooking classes featuring the craftsmanship of celebrity chefs, and in shows like “This Old House.”
Traditional vocational training in public high schools is gradually declining, stranding thousands of young people who seek training for a craft without going to college. Colleges, for their part, have since 1985 graduated fewer chemical, mechanical, industrial and metallurgical engineers, partly in response to the reduced role of manufacturing, a big employer of them.
The decline started in the 1950s, when manufacturing generated a hefty 28 percent of the national income, or gross domestic product, and employed one-third of the work force. Today, factory output generates just 12 percent of G.D.P. and employs barely 9 percent of the nation’s workers.
Mass layoffs and plant closings have drawn plenty of headlines and public debate over the years, and they still occasionally do. But the damage to skill and craftsmanship — what’s needed to build a complex airliner or a tractor, or for a worker to move up from assembler to machinist to supervisor — went largely unnoticed.
“In an earlier generation, we lost our connection to the land, and now we are losing our connection to the machinery we depend on,” says Michael Hout, a sociologist at the University of California, Berkeley. “People who work with their hands,” he went on, “are doing things today that we call service jobs, in restaurants and laundries, or in medical technology and the like.”
That’s one explanation for the decline in traditional craftsmanship. Lack of interest is another. The big money is in fields like finance. Starting in the 1980s, skill in finance grew in stature, and, as depicted in the news media and the movies, became a more appealing source of income.
By last year, Wall Street traders, bankers and those who deal in real estate generated 21 percent of the national income, double their share in the 1950s. And Warren E. Buffett, the amiable financier, became a homespun folk hero, without the tools and overalls.
“Young people grow up without developing the skills to fix things around the house,” says Richard T. Curtin, director of the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers. “They know about computers, of course, but they don’t know how to build them.”
Manufacturing’s shrinking presence undoubtedly helps explain the decline in craftsmanship, if only because many of the nation’s assembly line workers were skilled in craft work, if not on the job then in their spare time. In a late 1990s study of blue-collar employees at a General Motors plant (now closed) in Linden, N.J., the sociologist Ruth Milkman of City University of New York found that many line workers, in their off-hours, did home renovation and other skilled work.
“I have often thought,” Ms. Milkman says, “that these extracurricular jobs were an effort on the part of the workers to regain their dignity after suffering the degradation of repetitive assembly line work in the factory.”
Craft work has higher status in nations like Germany, which invests in apprenticeship programs for high school students. “Corporations in Germany realized that
there wa
s an interest to be served economically and patriotically in building up a skilled labor force at home; we never had that ethos,” says Richard Sennett, a New York University sociologistwho has written about the connection of craft and culture.
The damage to American craftsmanship seems to parallel the precipitous slide in manufacturing employment. Though the decline started in the 1970s, it became much steeper beginning in 2000. Since then, some 5.3 million jobs, or one-third of the work force in manufacturing, have been lost. A stated goal of the Obama administration is to restore a big chunk of this employment, along with the multitude of skills that many of the jobs required.
And there is an incipient upturn in the monthly employment data, although the president will almost certainly finish his first term with the manufacturing work force well below the 12.6 million it was when his administration began. (It was nearly 11.9 million last month.)
“We sit in rooms with manufacturers who tell us that location decisions to move overseas that were previously automatic are now a close call, and that the right policies can make a difference,” Mr. Sperling says.
THAT is particularly the case if federal, state and local governments intervene with generous subsidies, like those seen in China, Germany, Japan, France, India and other countries eager to sustain manufacturing.
Government subsidies are helping to make manufacturing in America more attractive, but the turnaround may be hard to sustain. And it may be too late. Big multinationals already operate factory networks in Europe and Asia, as well as in the United States. Stepping up exports to those markets from the United States, rather than producing in them, is becoming less of an option — short of an international agreement like the Plaza Accord of 1985, which realigned currencies and gave American manufacturers a temporary boost.
As for craftsmanship itself, the issue is how to preserve it as a valued skill in the general population. Ms. Milkman, the sociologist, argues that American craftsmanship isn’t disappearing as quickly as some would argue — that it has instead shifted to immigrants. “Pride in craft, it is alive in the immigrant world,” she says.
Sol Axelrod, 37, the manager of the Home Depot here, fittingly learned to fix his own car as a teenager, even changing the brakes. Now he finds immigrant craftsmen gathered in abundance outside his store in the early morning, waiting for it to open so they can buy supplies for the day’s work as contractors. Skilled day laborers, also mostly immigrants, wait quietly in hopes of being hired by the contractors.
Mr. Axelrod also says the recession and persistently high unemployment have forced many people to try to save money by doing more themselves, and Home Depot in response offers classes in fixing faucets and other simple repairs. The teachers are store employees, many of them older and semiretired from a skilled trade, or laid off.
“Our customers may not be building cabinets or outdoor decks; we try to do that for them,” Mr. Axelrod says, “but some are trying to build up skill so they can do more for themselves in these hard times.”
The Factory Factor: Why Outsourcing and 'Made in America' Could Decide this Election
in UncategorizedScott Paul
Executive Director, Alliance for American Manufacturing
Voters of all political stripes are far ahead of the debate inside Washington, D.C. More importantly, perhaps, is that nearly all Americans — not only working-class Ohioans — share this view.
So don’t be surprised if both campaigns escalate the rhetoric and attacks on shipping jobs overseas in the coming weeks, in part to mask their own shortcomings.
That’s because no one is a knight in shining Made in America armor when it comes to this issue. Mitt Romney (rightly) criticizes President Obama for not labeling China as a currency manipulator, but glosses over the fact that Republican leaders in Congress are blocking a bipartisan currency bill that would pass overwhelmingly. Romney has also been on the wrong side of Administration decisions to defend American tire workers against China’s cheating and successfully rescue Chrysler and General Motors.
The GOP hypocritically accuses Obama of sending stimulus dollars overseas, while Republican Senators tried to block Buy America requirements for stimulus spending.
The fact is, accusing your political opponent of shipping jobs overseas is now an established American campaign tradition. What is missing is an honest debate about what could actually be done to promote American manufacturing jobs. Voters are ready for such a dialogue.
Public opinion research conducted for the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) by the bipartisan team of the Mellman Group and North Star Opinion Research concluded that voters overwhelmingly embrace a bold, popular, and effective agenda for growing American manufacturing jobs. Now we just need Washington to listen.
A strikingly large percentage of Americans (56 percent) believe our nation is no longer the world’s strongest economy. Americans believe that we should be number one, and understand that manufacturing is the most important part of our economy. But, less than a quarter of voters believe anyone in Washington is doing a great deal to defend American manufacturing against cheating on trade or to create new manufacturing jobs.
Voters want a national manufacturing strategy and they favor proposals to crack down on China’s cheating, train a skilled workforce, and enforce Buy America policies by a margin of more than 8 to 1 — perhaps even surpassing apple pie.
But what can get done in this time of partisan gridlock? More than you think. Exactly one substantive bill passed the Senate last year over a filibuster attempt led by Mitch McConnell: legislation to penalize China for manipulating its currency, which was supported by most Democrats and one-third of Republicans. That bill would sail through the House this year if Speaker Boehner allowed a vote.
The manufacturing majority is strong and diverse. It has never been effectively harnessed because of often competing agendas between global companies and labor unions; we are the exception to that rule.
Voters will be forced to endure an endless series of 30-second TV ads telling us how bad the other guy is on offshoring. The least they deserve is a good manufacturing policy after the election.
Follow Scott Paul on Twitter: @ScottPaulAAM
Made in America: States and Businesses Can Restore American Manufacturing
in UncategorizedHaley Barbour and Terry McAuliffe
for The Huffington Post
Some have given up on American industry, saying manufacturing jobs are not coming back. Business leaders beg to differ, evidenced by growing efforts at reshoring and a recommitment to the “Made in America” label. And Mississippi, among other states, is leading the way. Since 2004, an aggressive job-creation agenda has brought higher skilled, higher paying jobs to Mississippi. The result: Employment is higher now than it was before Hurricane Katrina and per capita income increased 34 percent over the last eight years.
These successes stem from state and local governments and business leaders accepting that the renaissance of American manufacturing won’t happen overnight, and resolving to bring the restoration about by rolling up our sleeves and getting to work. There is no magic pill from Washington. Job creation is driven by the growth of small businesses and real gains can be made when entrepreneurs collaborate with their state and local governments to develop innovative solutions.
As a Virginia businessman and a former Mississippi governor, we are proud of our success story. We have been able to slow the rapid loss of manufacturing jobs in one hard-hit part of the country because of a jobs-before-politics philosophy exemplified in our unlikely partnership: a Democratic businessman who purchased an award-winning, advanced Chinese car company and moved it to America, and a Republican governor who fought hard to bring manufacturing jobs to his state. As the former chairs of the Democratic and Republican national committees, we’ve had plenty to disagree about over the years. But we found common ground in creating new jobs. Jobs should not be a partisan, political issue.
Now two years later, GreenTech Automotive’s first manufacturing facility in Horn Lake, Miss., is creating hundreds of new jobs and supporting thousands more. Furthermore, these jobs are built for the future, providing next-generation solutions to America’s energy needs by manufacturing all-electric, zero emission passenger vehicles.
In addition to these new jobs, GreenTech Automotive is shipping Made in America vehicles around the world and proving that America remains the world’s best place for manufacturing quality products. We’re not content to stop here. For example, similar efforts are underway to restore jobs in Virginia, where we are exploring repurposing a shuttered facility to produce wood pellets for export into the growing European biomass market.
Long-established automakers including Toyota and Nissan have come to Mississippi in the last decade, creating some ten thousand jobs. Advanced manufacturers from General Electric Aviation and EADS’ American Eurocopter in aerospace, the Russian steel giant Severstal, truck maker PACCAR and several alternative energy manufacturers have taken advantage of the state’s quality workforce and business-friendly environment. They join Chevron’s largest North American refinery and Huntington-Ingalls shipyard in proving manufacturing has a future not only in Mississippi, but also America.
Our Mississippi and Virginia-based GreenTech Automotive offers an example of how states and businesses can work together to get the job done. To continue this growth in other parts of the country, state governments need to recognize their role, not in being the source of jobs, but in fostering an environment conducive to job creation. They must level the playing field for competition; implement smarter tax policies that promote growth rather than punish success; invest in worker training; and promote innovation as well as the manufacturing required to make the products that result. Businesses, too, must commit to American manufacturing. They will find the risks are few. The U.S. is still home to the world’s best workers and technology.
We have begun to accomplish great things in a state committed to creating a business-friendly environment by putting aside our differences and embracing Made in America as both a corporate goal and a deeply held value. Other states and other businesses should do the same.
Mass Shooting at Colo. Movie Theater, 12 People Dead
in UncategorizedWitnesses in the movie theater said Holmes crashed into the auditorium through an emergency exit about 30 minutes into the film, set off a smoke bomb, and began shooting. Holmes stalked the aisles of the theater, shooting people at random, as panicked movie-watchers in the packed auditorium tried to escape, witnesses said.
“You just smelled smoke and you just kept hearing it, you just heard bam bam bam, non-stop. The gunman never had to reload. Shots just kept going, kept going, kept going,” one witness told ABC News.
“I’m with coworkers and we’re on the floor praying to God we don’t get shot, and the gunshots continue on and on, and when the sound finally stopped, we started to get up and people were just bleeding,” another theatergoer said.
Police said 10 victims died inside the theater, while dozens of others were taken to local hospitals, including a child as young as 6 years old.
A San Diego woman identifying herself as James Holmes’s mother spoke briefly with ABC News this morning.
She had awoken unaware of the news of the shooting and had not been contacted by authorities. She immediately expressed concern that her son may have been involved.
“You have the right person,” she said.
“I need to call the police,” she added. “I need to fly out to Colorado.”
Holmes was wearing a bullet-proof vest and riot helmet and carrying a gas mask, rifle, and handgun, when he was apprehended, according to police. Holmes mentioned having explosives stored, leading police to evacuate his entire North Aurora apartment complex and search the buildings early this morning.
The highly-anticipated third installment of the Batman triology opened to packed auditoriums around the country at midnight showings on Friday morning, and features a villain named Bane who wears a bulletproof vest and gas mask. Trailers for the movie show explosions at public events including a football game. Though many moviegoers dressed in costume to attend the opening night screening, police have made no statements about any connection between the gunman’s motives and the movie.
Police in New York have intensified security around showings of the film throughout the five boroughs today, with police commissioner Ray Kelley saying that “as a precaution against copycats and to raise the comfort levels among movie patrons in the wake of the horrendous shooting in Colorado, the New York City Police Department is providing coverage at theaters where the ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ is playing.”
The Paris premiere of the movie has been cancelled in the wake of the shootings. “Warner Bros. is deeply saddened to learn about this shocking incident. We extend our sincere sympathies to the families and loved ones of the victims at this tragic time,” the movie’s producers, said in a statement.
Witnesses watching movies in theaters next to the one where the shooting took place said bullets tore through the theater walls and they heard screaming.
“The suspect throws tear gas in the air, and as the tear gas appears he started shooting,” said Lamar Lane, who was watching the midnight showing of the movie with his brother. “It was very hard to breathe. I told my brother to take cover. It took awhile. I started seeing flashes and screaming, I just saw blood and people yelling and a quick glimpse of the guy who had a gas mask on. I was pushed out. There was chaos, we started running.”
One witness said she saw people dropping to the ground after the gunshots began.
“We were maybe 20 or 30 minutes into the movie and all you hear, first you smell smoke, everybody thought it was fireworks or something like that, and then you just see people dropping and the gunshots are constant,” witness Christ Jones told ABC’s Denver affiliate KMGH. “I heard at least 20 to 30 rounds within that minute or two.”
A man who talked to a couple who was inside the theater told ABC News, “They got up and they started to run through the emergency exit, and that when she turned around, she said all she saw was the guy slowly making his way up the stairs and just firing at people, just picking random people,” he said. “The gunshots continued to go on and on and then after we didn’t hear anything…we finally got up and there was people bleeding, there was people obviously may have been actually dead or anything, and we just ran up out of there, there was chaos everywhere.”
Witnesses and victims were taken to Gateway High School for questioning.
Hundreds of police and FBI agents are involved in the investigation. A senior official who is monitoring the situation in Washington said that early guidance based on the early snapshot of this man’s background indicated that this act does not appear to be linked to radical terrorism or anything related to Islamic terrorism.
Though police have said that they believe the shooter was acting alone, they checked all cars in the parking lot and cleared the area near the theater.
Dr. Comilla Sasson, at the University of Colorado Hospital where many of the victims were taken, said they are currently operating on nine critical patients and have treated 22 in all. She called the hospital “an absolutely terrifying scene all night.”
“The good news is that the 3-month-old has actually been discharged home and is in the care of their parents
In a statement, President Obama said, “Michelle and I are shocked and saddened by the horrific and tragic shooting in Colorado. Federal and local law enforcement are still responding, and my administration will do everything that we can to support the people of Aurora in this extraordinarily difficult time. We are committed to bringing whoever was responsible to justice, ensuring the safety of our people, and caring for those who have been wounded.”
A man who was in the adjacent theater with his son, said that the commotion began as one of the action scenes was starting up.
“These guys came through, and they say someone’s shooting,” he said. “I thought, ‘Oh, they must have heard the fireworks, you know … I had no idea. And then the alarms started to go off in the theater.'”
An explosive device was also found inside the movie house. Police are not sure whether the device, which investigators are calling a bomb, was already in place or whether it was thrown into the crowd.
Ambulances rushed to the scene as audience members fled the theater.
Investigators are now interviewing friends and associates of the suspect to get a sense of the man’s background.
Matthew Mosk contributed to this report.
Source: YAHOO! News
Hatch Calls Dems' 'Insourcing' Bill 'Misleading'
in Uncategorized“There is an utter lack of seriousness with this proposal,” the ranking member on the Finance Committee said. “On the surface this might sound reasonable … but as far as tax policy goes, this is a joke.”
Hatch said the bill was straight from President Obama’s campaign committee.
“It’s devoid of serious content because it is a product of political rather than economic priorities,” Hatch said on the floor Thursday.
Hatch said the bill should have come from the Finance Committee. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), who is on the Finance Committee, introduced the measure.
Under current law, companies can deduct the cost of moving people and equipment overseas from their taxes. S. 3364 would eliminate that deduction, and create a new 20 percent tax credit for all costs associated with moving overseas jobs back into the United States.
But Hatch said Democrats are being misleading by saying that there is a tax break for outsourcing.
“I’ll keep this book of tax codes at my desk here, if someone wants to show me the tax code that allows deductions for shipping jobs overseas,” Hatch said while holding the large book. “I’d like to see it, but it’s not in here.”
It’s unclear if the bill will clear the voting hurdle to end debate. Republicans were expected to support it until Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he was unlikely to include any Republican amendments.
Hatch said he’s recommending that the bill be sent to his committee for tweaks.
Source: THE HILL
Russian Spin on Olympic Apparel Fray
in UncategorizedBy DAVID LIPKE and CATHERINE BLANCHARD
But do they really? ABC did not source that apocryphal sentiment to any actual Russians. WWD reached the Russian Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee to check on the group’s sourcing proclivities as they plan for the Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. “The Sochi 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee is not in negotiations with American Apparel for the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. The official outfitter of the Russian team up to 2016 is the company Bosco Sport,” relayed the organization.
Moscow-based Bosco Sport manufactured uniforms for the upcoming London games in Asia and Europe, according to a spokesman. “Bosco is the official and exclusive outfitter to the Russian Olympic Committee. Our contract with the ROC means Bosco will be dressing Russia’s Olympians and Paralympians through to Rio 2016, in the same bold and beautiful designs we have been creating for the team since Salt Lake 2002. There is no reason for that to change in the foreseeable future,” the company told WWD.
It was unclear at press time whether Bosco had engaged in any discussions with American Apparel about potentially sourcing future uniforms from its Los Angeles facility. Charney declined to comment on whether American Apparel has had any talks with Bosco.
“I had contact from an organization that is connected to the government. Nothing has been signed but we were in dialogue,” insisted Charney. “I invited them to come to our London store and buy samples at our expense and see what interests them.”
Asked about the denials from the Russian Olympic Committee that there have been any negotiations with American Apparel, Charney responded: “I don’t know that every senior person there knows everything that’s going on with an inquiry about product.”
Besides ABC’s misleading inference, both Forbes.com and Cocoperez.com incorrectly reported on their sites that American Apparel had a done deal for Russian Olympic uniforms — something neither Charney nor the Post had actually stated.
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Original article
In trying to get you the story as quickly as possible, we failed to do our due diligence. We will try to be more diligent in obtaining more information before we publish any news going forward.
Bring Jobs Home Act Blocked by Senate. Here is the 'Roll Call'
in Uncategorizedas compiled through Senate LIS by the Senate Bill Clerk under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate
Vote Summary
Question: On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed (Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to S. 3364 )
Vote Number: 181 Vote Date: July 19, 2012, 02:15 PM
Required For Majority: 3/5
Vote Result: Cloture on the Motion to Proceed Rejected
Measure Number: S. 3364 (Bring Jobs Home Act)
Measure Title: A bill to provide an incentive for businesses to bring jobs back to America.
Vote Counts: YEAs 56 – NAYs 42 – Not Voting 2
Click here for Complete Roll Call
Senators Block ‘Insourcing’ Bill: S. 3364: Bring Jobs Home Act
in UncategorizedThe Bring Jobs Home Act also would have given a tax incentives to companies that bring jobs back to the United States. The measure failed to advance on a 56-42 vote, with 60 votes needed to end debate on the bill.
Republicans were considering supporting the insourcing bill until Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he wouldn’t include any GOP amendments.
“At a time when millions of Americans are looking for work, I’m not sure what could be more serious than protecting good-paying, middle-class jobs,” Reid said. “This obstruction tactic is unfortunate, but it’s not surprising. After all, Republicans’ nominee for president made a fortune working for a company that shipped jobs overseas.”
The Bring Jobs Home Act would have created a new tax credit for companies that spend money to bring overseas jobs back to the United States, and eliminate a tax credit for companies that spend money to move jobs overseas.
Under current law, companies can deduct the cost of moving people and equipment overseas from their taxes. S. 3364 would have eliminated that deduction, and created a new 20 percent tax credit for all costs associated with moving overseas jobs back to America.
Republican Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Olympia Snowe (Maine) and Scott Brown (Mass.) voted in favor of the measure. But other Republicans called the bill “political” and “misleading.”
“On the surface this might sound reasonable … but as far as tax policy goes this is a joke,” said ranking member of the Finance Committee Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). “It’s devoid of serious content because it is product of political rather than economic priorities.”
Reid said the bill was very serious to those losing their jobs.
“To 21 million Americans whose jobs could be the next ones sent to China or India, it’s a very serious proposal,” Reid said. “And to the 2.5 million Americans who jobs have already been offshored, it doesn’t get any more serious than this. The only ones who aren’t taking this legislation seriously are Republicans in Congress.”
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) introduced the bill as a jobs measure.
“It’s time to stop rewarding companies that send jobs to other countries and instead support businesses creating jobs here at home,” she said.
See how your Senator voted on the Bring Home Jobs Act: Senate Roll Call
Source: The Hill
You may find Ramsey Cox original article here. The Hill
Made in America: Apple's supply chain increasing US production
in UncategorizedPublished: July 19, 2012 07:38 AM EST (04:38 AM PST)
But the iPhone and iPad — Apple’s two most popular products — are made up of much more than the CPU and glass that Cook highlighted. These complex mobile machines include power controllers, proximity sensors, cellular radios, Wi-Fi chips, audio and video chips, accelerometers and more — and a number of those parts come from American companies.
Of course, there’s no guarantee that any of the parts found in Apple’s products are, with absolute certainty, made in America, even if they’re sold by a U.S. company. Many chipmakers build their products at a number factories located around the world. And ever-secretive Apple doesn’t even disclose who makes many of the parts found in its products, leaving enthusiasts to tear the company’s devices apart and hunt for clues, sometimes to no avail.
But over the last year, some of the more prominent chipmakers that Apple does business with, including Texas Instruments and Avago Technologies, have begun to increase their stateside production of components.
One industry contact who spoke with AppleInsider said that many of these companies are expanding their U.S. production in part because of orders received from “a large personal electronics manufacturer” that continues to see record breaking sales. Afraid to identify Apple by name, some in the industry are said to jokingly refer to growing orders from a mysterious “fruit vendor.”
One Apple supplier, Avago Technologies, is currently expanding its manufacturing processes in Fort Collins, Colo., and is planning to buy as much as $130 million worth of manufacturing equipment. Avago is responsible for making a custom part for Apple’s iPhone 4S that allows one handset model to connect to multiple forms of wireless networks around the world, according to IHS iSuppli.
AppleInsider inquired with Avago about its U.S.-based chip fabrication, as well as its assumed partnership with Apple, but the company declined to comment.
Texas Instruments, another key Apple partner, is also currently ramping up production at its Texas chip fabrication factories. While the chipmaker is closing factories in Japan and Houston, one person familiar with the company’s operations said those moves have come as the company turns its focus to products seeing increased demand.
In particular, Texas Instruments is said to have seen orders grow considerably for its power management chips for mobile devices like smartphones. Texas Instruments already supplies a number of components to Apple, including the touchscreen controller in the iPhone 4S, as well as power management chips and a control device found in the new third-generation iPad. The company was also rumored in March to have begun manufacturing new power management chips for Apple’s next iPhone.
A person familiar with operations at Texas Instruments said its power control chip business, which is said to receive a significant number of orders from Apple, has generated “thousands of jobs” in the U.S. Many of those jobs are said to be high-paying technical jobs that require employees with engineering degrees, particularly at its Richardson, Tex., facility, known internally as “RFAB.”
Fairchild Semiconductor, which is believed to supply power supply chips for Apple’s iOS devices, is also said to be producing over capacity at its American facilities. The San Jose-based company, which has been around in various forms since 1957, saw record quarterly sales for mobile products in the first quarter of 2012, and is in the process of adding more equipment in the U.S.
An individual familiar with Fairchild’s business indicated to AppleInsider that the company’s 200-millimeter wafer fabrication plant in South Portland, Maine, is currently at full capacity, as is its 150-millimeter facility in West Jordan, Utah. This person said Apple-ordered components built by Fairchild will primarily come from its Maine plant in the second half of 2012.
There are also rumors in the industry that Maxim Integrated Products, a semiconductor manufacturer based in San Jose, has secured orders from Apple. The company has plants in San Antonio and Dallas, as well as Beaverton, Ore., and San Jose, Calif.
AppleInsider reached out to Maxim to comment on rumors that it has received orders from Apple, but the chipmaker declined to comment on that particular topic.
However, Vivek Jain, senior vice president of Manufacturing Operations at Maxim, did discuss his company’s general chip production business, and revealed that about 50 percent of its wafer fabrication production is based in the U.S.
Maxim recently began a multi-year investment in its American facilities, upgrading and expanding capacity at all of its U.S. fabrication plants. Jain said the investment will allow Maxim to improve product quality and upgrade its equipment while assimilating production from recently acquired companies. Maxim’s 380,000-square-foot semiconductor fab in San Antonio was purchased from Philip
s Semiconductor
s Inc. in 2003.
Jain said the companies Maxim partners with have not specifically asked the chipmaker to build more products in the U.S. But Maxim has focused on its American operations regardless, because the company feels it gives them a competitive advantage.
“We have a very talented pool of resources in Silicon Valley and across (the) U.S. to develop new process technologies and do cost effective manufacturing, while protecting critical intellectual property,” Jain said.
Combined, Maxim’s plants in San Antonio and Beaverton employ nearly 1,100 manufacturing and engineering staff. Even more high-end workers are expected to be added as the company continues its $200 million in upgrades aimed at expanding its U.S. semiconductor manufacturing facilities.
Breaking down the iPhone’s parts
It’s impossible to tell exactly how much of Apple’s products are truly built in the U.S. As evidence of this, Andrew Rassweiler, senior principal analyst at research firm IHS iSuppli, put together a breakdown of components found in the iPhone 4S, and 52.6 percent of the parts were considered “unknown.”
iSuppli’s research did find that Samsung Semiconductor, which builds Apple’s custom ARM processors in Texas, plays the biggest role in the iPhone 4S. They estimate that Samsung’s components represent 12.4 percent of the smartphone’s identifiable bill of materials.
Avago Technologies is estimated to account for 1 percent of the bill of materials in the iPhone 4S, while Texas Instruments is pegged at 0.6 percent, Maxim is estimated to account for 0.5 percent, and Fairchild Semiconductor has 0.1 percent.
Corning’s Gorilla Glass, which serves as the scratch-resistant surface for the iPhone 4S touchscreen and is publicly acknowledged to be made in America, is estimated by iSuppli to represent another 0.6 percent of the smartphone’s total bill of materials.
Other noteworthy iPhone component makers on iSuppli’s list are:
While a number of parts found in the iPhone, iPad and other Apple products come from American companies and are made in the U.S., those parts are still shipped to China where Apple’s assembly partner, Foxconn, puts together the final product. Cook noted at D10 that much of the media scrutiny regarding Apple’s overseas partnerships comes from an “intense focus on the final assembly.”
“Could that (assembly) be done in the U.S.? I sure hope so,” Cook said. “But look, how many tool-and-die makers do you know in America? I could ask them, nationwide, to come here tonight and we couldn’t fill this room.”
It’s also worthwhile to consider that assembly jobs with companies like Foxconn tend to be low paying positions, which is in part why so many Chinese workers take on large amounts of overtime for extra pay. In contrast, the engineering jobs required for chip fabrication at companies like TI, Avago, Fairchild and Maxim are highly skilled, more desirable positions.
“We do as many of these things [in America] as we can do,” Cook said at D10. “And you can bet that we’ll use the whole of our influence to do this.”
What the Candidates Should Do About U.S. Manufacturing
in UncategorizedFormer Deputy Assistant and Acting Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce
Original Post: 07/18/2012 3:22 pm
This cannot go on. But what do we do?
Such a diverse group of participants has no one solution for reviving manufacturing in the United States. But a number of key ideas emerged, which are described below. These need to be followed-up on immediately by policy makers, and by candidates at the Presidential, Congressional, and State levels.
Two-Part Strategy: As a matter of process, we need to embrace a two-part strategy: (1) specifying what we need to enhance based on that we are already doing (i.e., trade enforcement, R&D tax benefits) and (2) taking on major new strategic elements (e.g., trade action against currency undervaluation, creation of a Secretary of Manufacturing, a large Economic Development fund at the Federal level).
Capitalizing on Recent Growth Areas: We need to take advantage of events that are already occurring, capitalizing on three areas of robust economic development in the United States: the communications boom, the tremendous increase in natural gas production, and the health care boom. We should think of health care in Buy American terms-in other words we should buy from domestic manufacturers–given the heavy subsidies from the U.S. Government to this industry.
Off-Shoring Policy: Many participants believe there should be a governmental and economic review of the implications of off-shoring by companies in the most sophisticated segments of the manufacturing base (such as electronics and avionics). Off-shoring of technologies in these areas is particularly problematic.
Eliminating the Trade Deficit: There is a strong belief that the trade deficit contributes to the budget deficit and we need to take steps to eliminate it — in other words “Trade Deficits Matter.” We also need better scoring on trade agreements. We should only approve trade agreements that demonstrate a “plus jobs, plus factories effect.”
Addressing the SOE Problem: State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) in China and elsewhere have become a major challenge for U.S. manufacturing. Many U.S. manufacturers are now competing against arms of the state to a much wider degree than in the past, yet our trade system is still geared toward dealing with market-oriented companies who have market-oriented motivations. We need a broader set of remedies and review mechanisms related to SOE investments and imports into the United States and their unfair practices abroad. One proposal is to create a CFIUS-like system for review of investment and sales by SOEs in the U.S. market. CFIUS, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, is a governmental inter-agency committee with jurisdiction to review foreign investments in U.S. companies, and stop such investments if they pose a threat to national security. A similar program could relate to SOEs, trade, and economic security.
A Comprehensive China Policy: A central issue remains trade with China, where we had a $295 billion trade deficit last year. Almost all of it in manufactured goods. With regards to China, our Conference panelists strongly urge the passage of legislation to offset currency manipulation. We also want a standstill in any further trade benefits for China, including negotiation of an investment treaty, until the Chinese government changes its indigenous innovation program, a program which undercuts U.S. high-tech companies in their efforts to access and prosper in China. We also believe we need a broad-scale effort to combat Chinese subsidies and a more vigorous program to combat Chinese theft of U.S. intellectual property, which would include serious consequences for Chinese companies that engage in such behavior. Finally, coerced transfer of IP and even of company ownership has become a prerequisite to doing business in China and cannot be tolerated.
Incentivizing Reshoring: We support reshoring initiatives that have recently demonstrated that it does make sense to bring manufacturing plants and jobs back to the United States now. The Boston Consulting Group and the Reshoring Initiative have done important work in this area.
Structural Changes in Government: We think some structural changes are needed in the U.S. Government, including the creation of a Secretary of Manufacturing, who should be in a position to make sure sound manufacturing policies are developed and implemented throughout the Federal Government. We believe there should be an attempt to replicate the German Fraunhofer Institute system, which is a government-funded applied research organization that disseminates R&D and has successfully assisted the German manufacturing sector for many years, much of it through direct contracts with industry.
Revision of Tax Policy: It is a national scandal that we have allowed a gross tax disadvantage for U.S. exporters to go on for decades, due to a peculiarity in the WTO system. When U.S. companies export their products, they cannot obtain a rebate of their income taxes and thus their
expor
t prices must be higher, but foreign countries, which have a VAT (value added tax), are permitted to rebate the VAT on export under the WTO system. This gives many foreign exporters a 17 percent advantage over U.S. companies. No wonder our manufacturers are suffering! We also need to lower the corporate tax rate — we now have the highest corporate tax rate in the world.
Regulatory Reform and R&D Promotion: It is critical to remember that we do not operate in a vacuum; we are in an international competition for manufacturing market share. Other countries engage in competitive efforts to attract manufacturing, whether it consists of our own, or their own, companies. To that end, and to make the United States fully competitive in this worldwide struggle, we need to lower the regulatory burdens on U.S. businesses and manufacturers, create an Economic Development Fund to match foreign support for manufacturing, increase funding for R&D and innovation in the United States, and provide larger and more dependable tax benefits for R&D and innovation. The R&D tax benefits should be tied to having the subsequent manufacturing take place within the United States. We recognize that when it comes to taxes and general business regulation, other competing demands arise within the U.S. political and economic system. Those of us in favor of a stronger manufacturing base cannot solve all of these conflicts, but we do believe the current status quo is creating disincentives for making things in America.
Enhancing Buy America Provisions: We think more can and should be done with Buy America requirements. These have been worn away to the point that they seldom operate in the way originally intended by the Congress. As infrastructure spending increases, as we believe it should, federal and state government purchases should be made from suppliers in the United States. Insofar as our international agreements prevent this preference, we need to review the operation of these agreements to see if they are benefiting U.S. exporters in foreign government procurements to any significant degree. The International Trade Commission or the Government Accountability Office should conduct a study of this issue. The regulations underlying the Buy America program must be critically examined and probably rewritten — waivers should be curtailed and the new regulations should specify that we need a very high level of U.S. content before a product can be considered to be “Made in America.”
Re-Tooling the Work Force: Finally, there are more and more instances where we do not have the right people available at the right time to fill manufacturing jobs. This does not mean it’s all a question of training, as some would say. It is certainly not because of a “lack of training” that we have lost five million manufacturing jobs over the last decade. But it does appear there is a mismatch between some existing skill sets and the newest demands on manufacturing workers. To that end we should redouble our investments in community colleges and other training programs that can prepare the next generation of workers for a manufacturing career. And we need to fully support the great engineering schools of the United States, and provide funding for any student who wants to undertake this critical and challenging career.
There is no one solution that will solve the problem of a declining U.S. manufacturing base, but there are solutions. We need to have a national commitment to manufacturing, which was one of the main focuses of the Conference on the Renaissance of American Manufacturing. And we need to be prepared to revise our strategy on a real time basis. We cannot build a Maginot Line. We need to build the next space program.
Lose Your Job Due To Outsourcing? The Huffington Post Wants To Hear From You
in UncategorizedInfo@TheMadeinAmericaMovement.com
Russian Olympians Will Wear Uniforms Made By American Brand
in UncategorizedWalter Loeb, Contributor
Covers major developments in the retail industry.
Russian Olympians will wear American made Uniforms in 2014.
I think that the uniforms should have been made in the United States and share the feelings expressed in Women’s Wear Daily by Allen B. Schwartz, principal and creative director of A.B.S by Allen Schwartz–“it was a huge oversight when you are promoting the U.S.A at the Olympics.”
The USOC (US Olympic Committee) is funded privately, in contrast to the Russian Olympic Committee, which is government sponsored and subsidized. With 530 athletes representing the United States at the opening ceremony on July 27, it is reasonable to assume that the USOC made cost an important factor when ordering the snappy uniforms, designed by the quintessential U.S.A. brand, Ralph Lauren, but made in China. U.S. Congressmen and Senators have expressed dismay that the uniforms were made in China, leading Ralph Lauren to promise that in 2014 the uniforms will be made in the United States. Regarding the reaction in Washington, one observer suggested that if these same lawmakers were to look into the manufacturing source of the performance apparel and footwear the athletes wear during competition, they would find that most of the gear is made in China. Importing apparel and footwear from China is not new news in the U.S., it reflects trade policy and has been going on for decades.
A similar brouhaha has emerged in Spain. Spanish athletes will be wearing uniforms made in Russia despite the fact that both Inditex (owner of Zara) and Mango, two Spanish apparel companies, have excellent facilities located in Spain.
American Apparel is a vertically integrated manufacturer, distributor and retailer of branded fashion and basic apparel. The company operates about 249 retail stores, an on-line e-commerce business, and a wholesale business selling t-shirts and casual wear to distributors and screen printers. Its stores are located in 20 countries including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Israel, Australia, Japan, South Korea and China. In 2010-2011, American Apparel experienced a liquidity crisis forcing it to refinance some of its debt in order to avoid bankruptcy. The crisis was caused by funding its rapid expansion with debt followed by the negative effects of the recession on consumer spending. More recently, the company’s financial prospects have been on the mend. Dov Cheney, CEO of American Apparel, was quoted by the New York Post as saying that the “Russians did not want to wear anything that was made in China.”
Influencer Marketing Drives Growth for Made in America Companies
in Marketing Your BrandMack Molding Co Invests to Capitalize on Reshoring
in UncategorizedPosted July 12, 2012
“A lot of people have gotten an education in the past decade as to what products it makes sense to manufacture in China and what products it makes sense to manufacture in the U.S.,” said Somple in an interview at the Medical Design & Manufacturing show in Philadelphia, held in late May.
“They have realized that there is a place for off-shore, low-cost manufacturing, but that it doesn’t make sense to manufacture everything offshore.
“A decade ago, boards of directors all over the country were asking their CEOs why they weren’t in China,” said Somple. “Now people are asking questions about whether it makes sense to go to China, and we’re hearing about [manufacturing] programs that are coming back.”
A number of different forces are coming into play all at once that are driving medical manufacturing back to the U.S., said Somple. “The quality demands are high,” he said, “and there are concerns about intellectual property.”
There are other factors as well, he said, including changes in the cost of offshore labor costs, issues related to manufacturing expertise and logistics costs.
“When companies moved to China, they didn’t factor in the hiccups that can occur and the need to expedite and air-freight products” when there are breakdowns or when cultural and time-zone differences create disruptions, said Somple.
“That all eats into the savings” a company gets from manufacturing overseas, he said. “One air-freight shipment of products [that you have to make] because you’re going to miss a customer’s deadline can cancel out a year of savings on the labor side.”
What’s more, the gap in wages is shrinking, he said, because offshore labor costs are increasing and U.S. labor costs remain flat. “With the current 20 percent annual increase in offshore labor costs, it won’t take long for the gap to close dramatically,” said Somple.
Because of the potential time and cost issues related to product development, the development of prototypes and getting production up and running overseas, Somple said companies should try to calculate a dollar value for what it might cost to resolve production problems overseas in weighing whether to manufacture in the U.S. or offshore.
“Look back on your recent domestic product launches and critically evaluate what it would have cost to solve all the issues that took place had the product been manufactured overseas,” suggested Somple. “Then take a pragmatic look at your new project.”
The boost in medical business at Mack, combined with the growth in its other markets, has increased the workforce of the northern operations of Mack Molding by more than 10 percent — from 450 to 500 — in the last year, said Somple.
With its workforce growing rapidly, Mack has put together training and internship programs to make sure that the company gets the quality workers it needs.
“The challenges [of hiring] people are more on the technical side, especially finding engineering people who want to run a [computer numerically controlled] machine,” said Somple.
“[Because] manufacturing has been perceived as a shrinking industry, the labor force has shied away from learning skilled trades like running a drill press or a molding machine.”
On top of that, noted Somple, the northern operations of Mack Molding are “in a rural area where there is not a vibrant manufacturing base” of other companies Mack can draw upon.
To address that, Mack has put together “very robust” internships — 11 this summer and 11 last summer — to whet the interest of future college graduates, Somple said.
“We have been doing that aggressively for three years now. This is a key component to us growing in the future,” said Somple. “We are making the program fun and interesting so we can keep bright people from leaving the state.”
Veteran resource
In addition, the company has always worked with recruiters, including several who specializing in placing individuals who are exiting military service and returning to civilian life, Somple said.
“These are skilled and trained people who have put their lives on hold, put their careers on hold,” said Somple. “They do great work and hit the ground running. Not only are they coming out of the service with incredible skills, they are also tremendously enthusiastic and ambitious about applying those skills to a new career.”
Mack also makes sure its new hires are properly trained and have someone to guide them from the onset.
Somple said Mack usually assigns a new hire a mentor and the company develops a training matrix specific to each position. That training often includes visits to other Mack facilities, off-site development programs and orientation sessions in functional areas, he said.
“It is so hard to find and attract good talent, so we want to do everything possible to help them hit the ground running and blend seamlessly into the company,” he said.
Visit their website for more information MACK MOLDING CO.
CNN's " Made in America: The short list"
in UncategorizedJuly 13, 2012
“Small businesses are responsible for two out of every three new jobs created in the U.S. We need these small to midsize businesses to flourish and grow as they are our innovators, our makers and job creators. Making it in America, supporting U.S. manufacturing and buying American is one thing we can all do today to help keep the American dream alive and well.”
Here’s a short list of websites and Facebook groups dedicated to helping consumers find products made in the United States, along with a few brands known to manufacture most or a substantial portion of their goods stateside.
Resources:
The Made in America Movement
Made in USA Challenge
USA Love List
Accessories:
– Arne Mason: leather carrying cases
– Blackbox Case: wooden laptop cases
– Makr Carry Goods: bags, stools, wallets, belts
– NATIVE(X): totes, scarves, jewelry, mugs
– Pierrepont Hicks: ties, bowties
– Randolph Engineering: glasses, sunglasses
– Summit Creek Dry Goods: wallets, key chains, belts
– Estex Mfg. Co.: Tool sheaths, aprons, buckets, holsters
Bags:
– Duluth Pack
– GORUCK
– J.W. Hulme
– Maptote
– Mountain Ridge Gear
Clothes:
– All American Clothing
– American Apparel
– Beverly Hills Basics
– Pendleton
– Pointer Brand
– Taylor Stitch
– Todd Shelton
– UNIS
Footwear:
– Terox Footwear
– Capps Shoe Company
– Rancourt and Company
– Red Wing Heritage line
Headwear:
– Walz Caps
– BUZZLINE
Random:
– Litespeed Bicycles
– K’NEX: Children’s toys
– Geneva Manufacturing: Modular garage organizing gear
– Purrfectplay: Pet toys
– Simplicity Vacuums
– Steelman Cycles
– Braun Corporation: Manufacturer of wheelchair lifts and ramps, transit vehicles
Share your resources in the comments!
The Shirt Heard Around the World: America has Returned
in UncategorizedAn Article Written by: Josh Miller
Creator/Producer of “Made in the USA: The 30 Day Journey”
We are a nation of entrepreneurs; we have our dreams that are unique to each of us. How many times have you shared an idea with a friend, and your friend tells you that this has already been done? You simply tell your friend that your idea is going to be a little different, and it is going to change the future. That is the exact spirit we inherited, and that is what has, and always will keep America alive.
The age of the entrepreneur is here, and we must make sure we give our entrepreneurs a chance to start their ventures here in the USA. This is not a pitch for lower taxes, less regulation, or vice-versa. This is a message to the world that a movement has arrived.
America has returned, and we’re ready to get to work. Nothing is going to stop us. We must tell President Obama, and Congress, to get their act together. Our future is much more important than a 2012 election. Whether our future leader is President Obama or Governor Romney, our message shall not change.
I hate using this phrase because I believe it is highly overused in the world of politics, but we are at a crossroads, and we must decide our fate. If the Olympic apparel story has taught us anything, it is that our voice can, and will be heard, if we speak loud enough, and speak on a united front.
Keep dreaming because that is what keeps America strong! We must continue to find that next frontier.
Follow Josh Miller and the progress of his film on Facebook and Twitter
Subscribe to his Youtube Channel and follow his journey.
Ralph Lauren to Make American-Made Olympic Uniforms in 2014
in UncategorizedDesigner Ralph Lauren announced Friday that the uniforms it provides the U.S. Olympic team at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, will, in fact, be made in the United States.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the USOC should be “ashamed of themselves,” and Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., called the decision “not just outrageous, it’s just plain dumb. It is self-defeating.”
Ralph Lauren initially declined comment on the criticism, but 24 hours later announced clothes for future Olympics would be made in the United States.
“Ralph Lauren promises to lead the conversation within our industry and our government to address the issue to increase manufacturing in the United States,” the company said in a statement.
It’s too late to change anything for the 530 American athletes in time for the London Games, which start July 27. The uniforms for the Opening Ceremonies will remain as planned — blue blazer, cream-colored pants for men and skirts for women and a blue beret with red and white stripes.
The USOC initially defended the choice of Ralph Lauren, saying it was grateful for the support from an “iconic American company.”
On Friday, USOC CEO Scott Blackmun said the federation takes the complaints seriously.
“We are absolutely committed … to working with our sponsors to ensure that the concerns voiced are addressed,” Blackmun said. “In the meantime, we ask for the American people’s support. The members of Team USA have dedicated their entire lives to training for this one moment.”
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., who along with Israel wrote a letter to the USOC chairman Larry Probst complaining about the situation, released a statement after hearing Friday’s news.
“When America’s best athletes are representing our country on the world stage, we should be representing the best of American-made goods,” she wrote. “The pride of our Olympic athletics goes hand in hand with the pride of American innovation and manufacturing. While I am greatly disappointed our athletes will not be dressed head to toe in Made in the USA this year, I thank the USOC and Ralph Lauren for hearing our voices and working to correct this mistake going forward. I look forward to cheering on Team USA.”
Outrage Over Ralph Lauren's 'Made in China' Team USA Olympic Uniforms
in UncategorizedDesigner Nanette Lepore, who manufactures her entire collection in the US, chimed in her disappointment to both ABC News and CNN.
“It’s very disturbing because it completely could have been manufactured here in the United States in New York City or in any other city where there’s factories that still exist,” she told CNN. “And it’s frustrating for us because it’s a cause we’ve been fighting for, and we’ve been trying to raise awareness and trying to convince designers to move work back to our shores and stop off-shoring and start on-shoring… This would have been the perfect opportunity.”
Rep. Steve Israel, D-New York, said there was enough time for Ralph Lauren to manufacture the uniforms in the United States.
“We’re not asking (Ralph Lauren) to do this simply out of American patriotism, although this is a matter of pride. We’re asking them to do it as a matter of economic strategy,” Israel said.
ABC News, which broke the story, reported that the USOC replied in a statement: “We’re proud of our partnership with Ralph Lauren, an iconic American company.”
In a similar vein, USOC spokesperson Patrick Sandusky tweeted yesterday, “All this talk about Olympic uniforms made in China is non sense. Polo RL is an American company that supports American athletes.”
Here is the rest of the ABC News report:
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Lawmaker: USOC 'Should Be Ashamed' Team USA Uniforms Made in China
in Uncategorizedupdated 10:29 AM EDT, Fri July 13, 2012
“Unlike most Olympic teams around the world, the U.S. Olympic Team is privately funded and we’re grateful for the support of our sponsors,” USOC spokesman Patrick Sandusky said in a statement released Thursday.
“We’re proud of our partnership with Ralph Lauren, an iconic American company, and excited to watch America’s finest athletes compete at the upcoming Games in London.”
Rep. Steve Israel, D-New York, said there was still enough time for the uniforms to be made in the United States.
“There are companies and people waiting to make those uniforms, and we can have the job done and the uniforms shipped in time for the Olympics,” he told CNN.
A majority of clothing is produced overseas, but it is a myth that American manufacturers can’t do the job locally, he said.
“We’re not asking (Ralph Lauren) to do this simply out of American patriotism, although this is a matter of pride. We’re asking them to do it as a matter of economic strategy,” Israel said.
Dara Torres, a former American Olympic swimmer who won 12 medals in a span of 20 years, said the uniforms looked great but would be even better if they were produced domestically.
“Wearing the U.S. uniform, going out there to represent the United States, it would be nice if it was actually made in the United States,” she said.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, told reporters Thursday that “the Olympic committee should be ashamed of themselves.”
“I think they should be embarrassed. I think they should take all the uniforms, put them in a big pile and burn them and start all over again,” he said.
“If they have to wear nothing but a singlet that says USA on it, painted by hand, then that’s what they should wear.”
Ralph Lauren and the USOC were bombarded on Facebook and Twitter by hundreds who demanded the fashion design company manufacture new uniforms in the United States.
Actress and human rights advocate Mia Farrow took to Twitter to call on the designer to explain its actions: “please will you tell us why the US Olympic uniforms are made in China? Why not made in the USA?”
Farrow, known for her advocacy on behalf on children, also called on the designer to heed Reid’s call. “Burn them & start all over. How bout it?” she tweeted.
At least one current Olympic athlete also raised questions about the uniforms.
“Our Ralph Lauren outfits for the Olympic opening ceremonies were made in China. So, um, thanks China,” tweeted distance runner Nick Symmonds, who represents the best hope for the United States to medal in the men’s 800-meters since the 1992 Games in Barcelona.
Sandusky, the USOC spokesman, also took to Twitter later in the day to defend the uniforms, describing the criticism as nonsense.
“All this talk about Olympic uniforms made in China is non sense. Polo RL is an American company that supports American athletes,” he tweeted.
Ralph Lauren did not respond to a CNN request for comment, though the designer — in a statement posted online — called it a “privilege to be the outfitter of Team USA for the 2012 Olympic Games.”
“The Olympic Games are the ultimate tradition of international competition, sportsmanship, and personal excellence,” the designer said on the company’s corporate website.
The USOC is no stranger to controversy over its sponsorships, with questions being raised over why it opted last year to extend BP’s sponsorship through the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010.
It was also questioned as early as the 2002 during the Winter Games in Salt Lake City about why American athletes donned berets made by Roots, a Canadian company.
Ralph Lauren has designed uniforms for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, and both times portions of the clothing were manufactured in China, according to previous CNN reports.
The revelations about the 2012 uniforms, first reported Wednesday night by ABC News, come at a critical time as the United States grapples with a struggling economy that has hit the American textile industry hard.
New York-based fashion designer Nanette Lepore, who boasts a “Made In America” collection, said she was disturbed by the news that the uniforms were made in China.
It’s very disturbing because it completely could have been manufactured here in the United States in New York City or in any other city where there’s factories that still exist,” she told CNN.
“And it’s frustrating for us because it’s a cause we’ve been fighting for, and we’ve been trying to raise awareness and trying to convince designers to move work back to our shores and stop off-shoring and start on-shoring. This would have been the perfect opportunity.”
But free market advocates, such as the Cato Institute, say none of this is surprising.
Globalization means manufacturing companies will be drawn to countries where the costs are lowest, according to Daniel J. Ikenson of the Cato Institute.
“When compa
nies a
re able to outsource, they are able to produce most competitively. They’re able to attend to their costs. And if they can do that, then they can deliver better quality, greater variety at lower prices for U.S. consumers,” Ikenson
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‘Made in USA’: The All American Clothing Co. Reveals Why America Just Can't Live Without It
in UncategorizedAt a time when ‘Made in USA’ and American Manufacturing are at high level of discussion, there is not enough emphasis, action or resolve. Many focuses for political leaders have been on the issues of health care, tax cuts, and student loans–which are all necessary matters. But, our leaders have not focused enough on the all important ideal that allows citizens to attain and afford these issues. That is, creating jobs. Jobs cannot be created without American manufacturing built around the phrase ‘Made in USA.’ These words are what built America during the greatest job growth in its history–the Industrial Revolution. From the auto industry workers on the assembly line, to the farmers who harvest food, to the cotton mill workers who create the fabric used in clothing—the days of the Industrial Revolution created millions of American jobs with three words America just can`t live without—‘Made in USA.’
America cannot live without USA manufacturing. Manufacturing creates the jobs that fuel the tax base needed to support the American standard of living. Taxes help to pay for schools, police, fire/emergency services, healthcare and transportation. Without USA manufacturing and jobs how can America support these needs? According to the U.S. Census Bureau the American population was estimated at 313,793,643 as of June 2012. If every American spent $50 on one USA Made item a year, it would create an estimated $15.7 billion in revenue. In addition, each American manufacturing job produces up to 4 new jobs in other sectors (source: workingforamerica.org). This number alone would create thousands of jobs for Americans!
There once was a time when it was a tradition to have “Made in USA’ on all manufacturing items in the U.S, when there was a promise of the American Dream through the American manufacturing that provided jobs, and when industries like the apparel industry thrived in being one of the leading job suppliers for citizens in the United States. Those days are over. Today, there are very few companies who can say they are ‘Made in USA’ by American workers and from American materials.
According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the American Made apparel industry alone had 938.6 thousand jobs in 1990. Today, that number has plummeted to 150.3 thousand jobs. Along with other industries, the American apparel industry is slowly dying, racking up a loss of 788,300 jobs, a -84% loss. If trends like this continue Americans will keep on losing jobs, the national debt will continue to plunge, and someday there may never be tags on clothing that say ‘Made in USA.’
With the current unemployment rate at 8.2% (Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics), in what is the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. The need to supply American citizens a job in an American manufacturing industry is more important than ever for both U.S. citizens and the economy. Under these current conditions, citizens are finding it harder to live. College graduates cannot find a job, parents are supporting their children into their 20`s, and even military men and women cannot find a job after they return home from duty.
American citizens, business leaders, and political leaders must take a stand and make an effort to support this country. U.S. business leaders must stand up to do the right thing and bring manufacturing back to the United States. Citizens must support the effort to buy at least one USA Made item a year at $50 to create up to $15.7 billion in revenue, and American political leaders must support ‘Made in USA’ as a call to action in a bi-partisan way. There is still hope. If all Americans collectively come together and start supporting USA Made items, America will begin to flourish like it once did during the Industrial Revolution. $15.7 billion in one year, can double to $30 billion in the next. Together, with action, Americans can ultimately improve their efforts and each others` lives year in and year out. America has to. America has no choice. It has to support ‘Made in USA.’ America just can`t live without it.
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About the Author:
Logan Beam is the Director of Marketing and Communications for the All American Clothing Co, a 100% USA Made clothing company that passionately supports Made in USA goods. This release was written as a ‘call to action’ for all American citizens and all American leaders to increase their efforts in supporting ‘Made in USA’.
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Team USA To Be Decked Out in Uniforms Made in China
in NewsABC News’ Sharyn Alfonsi reports:
The classic American style – shown in an image above – was crafted by designer Ralph Lauren. But just how American is it?
When ABC News looked at the labels, it found “made in China.”
Every item in the uniforms that the U.S. athletes will be wearing at the opening ceremony in London will carry an overseas label.
Here’s how much the uniforms cost:
Men:
Beret – $55
Tie – $125
Belt – $85
Shirt – $425
Blazer – $795
Trousers – $295
Shoes – $165
Women:
Beret – $55
Scarf – $58
Belt – $85
Shirt – $179
Skirt – $498
Blazer – $598
“Why shouldn’t we have pride not only in the American athletes, but in the American manufacturers and laborers who are the backbone of our country?” Lepore said to ABC News. “Why? What’s wrong? Why was that not a consideration?”
ABC News reached out to Lauren and the U.S. Olympic Committee and asked why American-made clothing had not been selected for the athletes.
The committee said: “The U.S. Olympic team is privately funded and we’re grateful for the support of our sponsors. We’re proud of our partnership with Ralph Lauren, an iconic American company.”
The Made in America Movement Open at Wisconsin Dells
in UncategorizedSomeone gave us the idea to ask our loyal and devoted Made in USA fans/followers to donate even just $1 to our cause, so we can have this tournament named after us. The tournament will be named as follows:
“The Made in America Movement Open at Wisconsin Dells”
If you send it as MONEY to a friend, and not as a purchase, no fees will be charged. Every penny counts.
Let’s get this tournament named after us, and let the world know about about The Made in America Movement!
Do you think we can raise $3,000 in 30hrs? Let’s see….
Ready! Set! DONATE!
If you would like to come on board as a sponsor, email me for details: info@themadeinamericamovement.com
Imagine YOUR banner across the golf course!
This is HUGE!
We will get our message to people across the Country.
Orders for U.S. Manufactured Goods Increased in May
in UncategorizedPublished: July 3, 2012
Still, factory orders are down from the start of the year. And more recent data shows manufacturing activity shrank in June for the first time in three years, adding to worries that weaker global growth is weighing on the economy.
“The demand for manufactured goods is recovering moderately and irregularly, but that recovery has been relatively weak relative to the magnitude of the previous declines,” said Steven Wood, chief economist at Insight Economics.
Core capital goods, which include machinery and computers, rose 2.1 percent, which is better than the 1.6 percent estimated in a preliminary report a week ago.
Overall factory orders increased to $469 billion. That’s 43.5 percent higher than the recession low reached in March 2009. But orders have fallen 2.5 percent over the last five months from their postrecession high in December.
Orders for long-lasting durable goods, everything from airplanes to refrigerators, rose 1.3 percent in May. Orders for nondurable goods, which include food, paper, chemicals and energy products, edged up 0.2 percent. The increase may have been held back by falling oil and gas prices.
Still, orders are likely to decline in June, based on a report from the Institute of Supply Management. The trade group of purchasing managers on Monday said manufacturing contracted in June for the first time since July 2009 — one month after the recession ended
'Reshoring' of Jobs Looks Meager
in UncategorizedThe net effect of this two-way traffic on the labor market has been “zero,” says Michael Janssen of the Hackett Group, a business consulting firm that released a contrarian report on reshoring in May. “Some of these jobs that are coming back get a lot of press,” he says. “There are just as many that get no press coverage still going offshore.”
No one knows how many of the manufacturing jobs created since 2010 actually made a round trip from the U.S. to a foreign address and back. And if jobs are returning, they’re doing so slowly. At the current pace of recovery, it will take 25 years for the U.S. to regain all the factory jobs lost since 2000.
China’s cost advantage is gradually eroding. In 2005 production in China was 31 percent cheaper than in advanced nations, according to the Hackett Group’s calculations. By 2013 the gap will be down to 16 percent, small enough for U.S. production to make sense in some cases, says the study. Likewise, Hal Sirkin, who wrote a 2011 Boston Consulting Group report that’s optimistic about a U.S. manufacturing comeback, estimates that over the next eight years 2 million to 3 million jobs could result from improved U.S. competitiveness. “A significant chunk will be jobs that went to other countries and came back,” he says.
So far, many of the jobs China is losing aren’t heading to the U.S. but to other low-cost Asian nations. Rising wages in China led Coach to start looking for alternate places to make its wallets and handbags. By 2015 the company aims to reduce China’s share of its production to about 50 percent from almost 80 percent today. New orders will be sent to factories in Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines. Reshoring to somebody else’s shores will be more common in coming years than jobs returning to the U.S., says Tim Leunig, who teaches economic history at the London School of Economics: “The next president of the United States, whoever he is, will end his term with fewer Americans working in manufacturing than he inherited.”
The bottom line: Though manufacturers have created 495,000 jobs since 2010, there’s little evidence it’s because of a reshoring surge.
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Lynch is a reporter for Bloomberg News in Washington.
Obama Administration Challenges China’s Unfair Imposition of Duties on American-Made Automobiles
in Uncategorized“As we have made clear, the Obama Administration will continue to fight to ensure that China does not misuse its trade laws and violate its international trade commitments to block exports of American-made products,” Ambassador Kirk said. “American auto workers and manufacturers deserve a level playing field and we are taking every step necessary to stand up for them. This is the third time that the Obama Administration has challenged China’s misuse of trade remedies.”
This is the latest in a series of enforcement steps the Administration has recently taken to continue to hold China accountable for its WTO commitments. In two earlier WTO cases, the United States challenged duties that China had imposed to restrict imports of certain steel products and chicken products from the United States. The United States has also brought actions against China’s export restraints on several industrial raw materials, including rare earths, China’s restrictions on electronic payment services and subsidies to China’s wind power equipment sector. In each of these matters, the key principle at stake is that China must play by the rules to which it agreed when it joined the WTO. Those commitments include maintaining open markets on a non-discriminatory basis, and following internationally-agreed procedures in a transparent way. In addition, the United States previously invoked a China-specific safeguard to address rapidly increasing imports of Chinese passenger and light truck tires.
Background:
Shortly after President Obama decided in September 2009 to impose a safeguard measure against Chinese tire imports, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced that it would initiate antidumping and countervailing duty investigations of imports of American-made cars and sport utility vehicles (SUVs). Then, in May 2011, China’s Ministry of Commerce issued final determinations in which it found that imports of American-made automobiles had been sold at less than fair value (i.e., “dumped”) into the Chinese market and had also benefited from subsidies. WTO rules permit imposition of duties on imports of merchandise that are found to be dumped or subsidized, if those imports cause injury to the domestic industry. However, at that time, China suspended the imposition of duties.
Subsequently, in December 2011, China began imposing both antidumping and countervailing duties on imports of American-produced automobiles. The antidumping duties range from 2.0 percent to 8.9 percent, with an “all others” rate of 21.5 percent, and the countervailing duties range from 6.2 percent to 12.9 percent, with an “all others” rate of 12.9 percent. The specific products affected by the duties are American-produced cars and SUVs with an engine capacity of 2.5 liters or larger. Last year, the United States exported more than $3 billion of these automobiles to China.
The United States believes that China initiated the investigations without sufficient evidence; failed to objectively examine the evidence; and made unsupported findings of injury to China’s domestic industry. In addition, China failed to disclose “essential facts” underlying its conclusions; failed to provide an adequate explanation of its conclusions; improperly used investigative procedures; and failed to require non-confidential summaries of Chinese company submissions.
See here for a copy of the U.S.’s request letter to the WTO.
American Pride Turns into Profit for Young Entrepreneur
in UncategorizedPublished July 04, 2012
“It really hit home for me, even though I was just a six-year-old. I was like, ‘Daddy let’s show them that we’re Americans,’ ” said Waldon, now 17.
Before the Waldons knew it, Emily had a decent business on her hands. She named it Flagpole Express.
“All we want is for people to have flagpoles and be able to have them in their front yard, because as Americans we need to show that we’re proud,” the young entrepreneur said.
In the last eleven years Flagpole Express has built, delivered, and installed more than 500 flagpoles at homes and businesses throughout Mississippi, Memphis, Tenn., and in parts of Arkansas.
“What we make is the best you can get,” Emily said with a smile.
Emily puts the poles together at home with her dad, usually after school when she’s done with homework, and then they deliver and install the flagpoles on the weekends.
“This is a country that the American dream is possible and really that’s what occurred with her little business,” said Emily’s Dad, Bryan Waldon.
Each flagpole sells for a couple hundred dollars, and the Waldons typically handle a couple orders each week, depending on the season. Over the past 11 years, Emily has made more than $100,000 in profits.
“Just fellow Americans wanting to show pride in America. They wanted what we had, the flagpoles, to show that they were proud also. It was a great coming together with the whole community being patriotic,” Emily said.
Emily plans on studying international business at college after finishing her senior year of high school. She’s still deciding where she’ll go, but she says wherever she goes, Flagpole Express is coming with her.
“I’m definitely going to keep with it as long as I possibly can. Maybe pass it down to my kids. It’s been great growing up with it.”
Garrett Tenney is part of the Junior Reporter program at Fox News. Get more information on the Junior Reporters Program here.
Read more: http://smallbusiness.foxbusiness.com/entrepreneurs/2012/07/04/american-pride-turns-into-profit-for-young-entrepreneur/#ixzz1zlRrHmsC
US Manufacturing Shrinks for First Time in 3 Years
in UncategorizedMon Jul 2, 9:05 PM UTC
Production and exports declined, and the number of new orders plunged, according to a monthly report released Monday by the Institute for Supply Management.
The slowdown comes as U.S. employers have scaled back hiring, consumers have turned more cautious, Europe faces a recession and manufacturing has slowed in big countries like China.
Lawmakers Push for American Flags to be 'Made in the U.S.A.'
in UncategorizedJuly 3, 2012
So ask sponsors of the All-American Flag Act, introduced in response to the $3.6 million in imports of U.S. flags, mostly from China.
The bill’s sponsors picked the eve of Independence Day to call on the House to pass a Senate-approved bill that would require the federal government to purchase only flags made entirely from domestic content.
It was not immediately clear why the bill has yet to come up for a vote in the House, which approved the measure in 2010. That bill never came before the Senate before the session ended.
Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa), the House’s bill’s chief sponsor, said in a statement, “It’s time for the House to act.”
U.S. flag imports were valued at $3.6 million last year, with $3.3 million coming from China, according to the Census Bureau.
Currently, federal law requires that U.S. flags purchased by the federal government contain a minimum of 50% American-made materials. The legislation would require federal agencies to purchase only flags made entirely in the U.S. “from articles, materials, or supplies 100% of which are grown, produced, or manufactured in the United States.”
“In a time when we face economic hardship, it is critical to invest in the manufacturing base,” Brown said during Senate consideration of his bill last year. “There is no product that deserves a U.S.A. label more than American flags.”
A separate bill, the Genuine American Flag Act, that would prohibit imports for sale of foreign-made U.S. flags also has been introduced.