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I am just returning from my first National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) board meeting as a rookie. I can honestly say, being part of this meeting, which is exclusively for the leaders and owners of small and medium manufacturers (SMM), I have never heard such unanimous optimism for the future of all manufacturing in the United States, as I just witnessed during the past three days. Business leaders are extremely excited because America finally woke up on November 8^th!

Every business person in the room was 100% convinced that President Trump will do the right things, including introducing tax reform, reducing harmful regulations to business, and eliminating unfair trade practices. That is because the President is extremely focused on three words…JOBS, JOBS, JOBS!

Additionally, for the first time ever, NAM is actually being sought out by the White House for their input. The conference would not have had such high-powered speakers if NAM was not important to the administration (Vice President Pence wanted to come, but could not make it). Some of the more interesting talks at this conference were Scott Pruitt, Administrator of the EPA, Representative Kevin Brady (R-TX), and Matt Levatich, the CEO of Harley Davidson.

In summary:

1. Scott Pruitt head of the EPA had been on the job for a whole 10 days at the time of the meeting. He knows that the 300,000 regulations that are on the books can be, and in many cases, are onerous to business. He also knows that manufacturers pay on average, $35K annually per employee, in order to comply with current federal regulations. He wants to change the EPA by:

• Creating regulatory certainty. In the past Congress would pass regulations that were untethered. The statute would later be changed, which would evolve as a totally different, onerous regulation, different from what Congress had originally intended.
• Restoring trust. He wants to work more with the States. During the last administration, the states were to go along with any EPA edict. Those states which questioned things were banished by the EPA, as being uncooperative. Scott said he will change this culture and listen to the states more.
• Being pro energy and pro-environment. When speaking about Obama’s assault on coal and nuclear power, he clearly stated his agency, is not there to determine the “winners and losers” as was done in the past. He is there to determine the most stable, cost effective power, while always considering the trade off with the environment. He said the EPA has been sued in the past because the EPA overstepped their bounds on “winners and losers” and this must stop. Our government cannot afford thousands of costly litigation cases.

2. Rep Brady is the current Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Most importantly, he revealed to the House a bold new plan to implement a 43% tax cut across the board. He wants to have “post card” filings to eliminate the complexity of our current tax codes. He wants to reduce corporate taxes from 40% to 20% (Trump wants 15%), which would be the lowest corporate tax rate in the history of the US. He also wants to eliminate the Death Tax. To pay for this, he wants to implement the “Border Adjustable Tax.” He estimates this tax will bring $1.3 trillion into the coffers. He wants this done by August, however Senator Hatch and the Senate seem to be playing four corners and stall ball with everything. NAM estimates that the best case in getting this tax reform done will be Q4.

3. Finally, you may have seen on TV that the CEO of Harley Davidson was recently on the White House lawn with President Trump and some Harley bikes. Matt Levatich, along with members from NAM, then had a 1 hour lunch with President Trump and advisors in the Roosevelt Room. Matt told the crowd that President Trump listened intently with Jared Kushner by his side always. President Trump wanted to know Harley Davidson’s number one concern.  The CEO of Harley Davidson told President Trump that he was getting killed with unfair trade practices. For example:  his bikes that were destined for India, were being taxed 100% of their retail value. President Trump simply stated that every import from India should be taxed 100%. Matt said when the press got ahold of that statement, the government of India immediately refuted it. The pundits’ fact checked it. He said, “You can listen to who you want to believe, but this is an undeniable fact.”  He had a great conversation on how his Harley ridership is getting grey, and they have to find new riders and new ways to compete. He also emphasized to President Trump that having a “strong” dollar is not necessarily a good thing. He concluded that finding good talent is very important to Harley Davidson, and that does not necessarily require a college degree. He emphasized that trade schools need to be valued more, and the former Wharton educated businessman completely understood and agreed.

All I know is if the results of November 8^th were different, the discussions of the manufacturers assembled over the past three days would have been totally different at this meeting. The world finally woke up, and NAM now really has the power to change things. Instead of NAM pushing information to the White House, and ultimately getting discarded, the current administration is pulling NAM into the fold. They are listening.

This is an exciting time for all U.S. manufacturers and our member companies in other countries, who are driven by manufacturing and consumption in the U.S.  We should all be ready for real growth…not the dismal 1% to 2% GDP over the past decade.  Buckle up and get ready for the ride!

Report provided by Bob Hill, President of Solar Atmospheres of Western Pennsylvania and a current board member of NAM’s Small & Medium Manufacturers Board.