Six Ways to Bring Manufacturing Back
and Stop Them From Leaving the Country
By Joel D. Joseph, Founder, Made in the USA Foundation
During first term in office, President Trump lost U.S. manufacturing jobs. Outlined below is a roadmap to create jobs in the United States and stop them from leaving.
1. Require the Army and Navy PXs to Buy American
This is the easiest way to create jobs in the United States. We the people own thousands of Army and Navy stores across the United States. Unfortunately, these stores buy and sell mostly imported products.
The President can require AAFES (Army & Air Force Exchange Service) and NEXCOM, (the Naval Exchange Service Command) to buy American. These stores now import billions of dollars-worth of clothing and other products. During President Trump's first term, I asked Peter Navarro, Trump's Made in the USA czar, to do this. Navarro's reply was that he was unable to do do so. This is the easiest way for Trump to create more than 100,000 manufacturing jobs in U.S.
Walmart creates thousands of manufacturing jobs by buying American-made products. For example, Walmart has worked with American Giant, a large T-shirt and sweatshirt manufacturer to produce modestly-priced clothing for Walmart stores. If Walmart can do it, so can AAFES and NEXCOM.
The Navy Exchange Service Command reported annual sales of $2.3 billion in 2023 with a profit of $45 million. The Army & Air Force Exchange Service reported $8.5 billion in revenue for the fiscal year 2022.
2. Reduce Income Taxes for Domestic Manufacturers
If a company manufacturers 100 percent of its products in the USA, it should not have to pay a federal income tax. Very few companies do this as most products contain some foreign content. We can implement a sliding scale for USA manufacturers, depending on how much of their products are made in the United States. If a company produces one half of its goods in the United States, it would pay income tax at half the rate of other corporations. This would encourage companies to increase the domestic content of their products.
3. Modify the WARN Act to Require Closing Factories to Offer the Factory for Sale to Domestic Entities
The WARN Act (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988) currently requires companies that plan to close factories to give notice. This federal law should be modified to require factories that plan to close to offer the factory for sale to its hometown or to its employees. The law should also provide funding for saving factories. Many factories close in this country without giving their workers and their hometowns the chance to keep the factory in business.
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