AAM to Donald Trump: Make Good on Your American-made Promises!

Read our letter to the president-elect.

In one week, Donald Trump is coming to the White House. The Alliance for American Manufacturing sees a lot of opportunities in his arrival.

This is a president-elect, after all, who staunchly campaigned on the revitalization of the U.S. manufacturing sector. His campaign speech in Pennsylvania last July, and another in Detroit in September, were full-throated endorsements of domestic industry. What's more, many of his nominations suggest he intends to follow through on his election-year promises to defend manufacturers against the damages of unfair trade.

Where appropriate, AAM hopes to work with the Trump administration to advance his trade and manufacturing goals and put more Americans back to work in well-paying factory jobs. To that end we've reached out to the president-elect to lay out our priorities.

They are:

• Investments in American infrastructure using American-made iron and steel, with careful attention paid to their fiscal sustainability and size.
  
• Support for 'Buy America ' policies and a defense against efforts to weaken them. That means expanding their coverage; closing loopholes, revisiting already-granted exceptions and strengthening enforcement; and rejecting efforts to undermine them by lowering their standards.
  
• Make trade work for more Americans by prioritizing trade enforcement efforts by government agencies; working to reduce global industrial overcapacity; maintaining China's well-earned non-market economy status; deterring and penalizing currency manipulation; and emphasizing domestic job creation in future trade agreements.
  
• Strengthen the defense industrial base by reforming the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States so that national security is a primary consideration; improving 'Buy America' rules in defense procurement; and pinpointing vulnerabilities in strategic industries.

And lastly?

• Prioritize U.S. manufacturing in any plan for corporate tax reform so that - simply put - manufacturers don't end up foot the bill for a tax cut for Wall Street and Walmart.

You can read our whole letter to President-elect Trump here.