The Manufacturing Report

U.S. trade policy was ruled for decades by the concept that free trade was always the answer — a fallacy that led to the loss of millions of American manufacturing jobs. Former United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer fundamentally changed that and ushered in policy that put American workers first. He joins the podcast to discuss his new book, "No Trade Is Free: Changing Course, Taking...

Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio), a lead Republican author of the Leveling the Playing Field Act 2.0, joins us to explain how the bipartisan legislation would modernize the trade remedy tools America needs to push back against the predatory economic practices of China and other nations. Johnson also discusses the importance of America's steel industry. Photo courtesy of Rep. Bill Johnson's office

When Team AAM spoke with members of the United Steelworkers union this past summer during the Rapid Response conference in Washington, D.C., these hardworking men and women shared how integrally their communities are tied to manufacturing and why a policy that reinvests tax money back into communities is vital to their livelihoods AAM photo

Auburn Manufacturing Inc. (AMI) CEO Kathie Leonard built her textile company from the ground up in a male-dominated industry decades ago. So when China’s dumping of heavily subsidized silica fabric made her company go sideways, she fought tooth and nail for her business and its workers. She won. In August, President Biden spotlighted AMI as an industrial policy success story. Listen in for the sto...

Terry Iverson, the president and CEO of Illinois machine tool distributorship and rebuilder Iverson & Company, has been deeply entrenched in the manufacturing world since birth and has made it his personal mission to ensure that America’s next generation seizes career opportunities in the industry. In this episode, he discusses the two books he recently authored, “Inspired Champions in Advanced Ma...

China is churning out enough electric vehicles to flood the global market, and it’s working on gearing up for an autonomous vehicle onslaught as well. But American self-driving electric vehicle company Cruise is working hard to beat them in the race, and it’s doing it through a partnership with legacy American manufacturer General Motors that’s creating thousands of jobs. It’s a model for the 21st...

Michigan Rep. Haley Stevens (D) discusses the role of industrial policy in America’s factory boom and how American manufacturers can lead in the global electric vehicle and autonomous vehicle race. Photo courtesy of Rep. Haley Stevens

More than 2 million packages are imported into the U.S. every day without inspection because of a U.S. Customs loophole that Chinese e-commerce behemoths like SHEIN and Temu have exploited to seize market share -- and America is footing the bill. Now Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) is fighting back with new legislation, the Import Security and Fairness Act. Photo courtesy of Rep. Earl Blumenauer

Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.), a member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, discusses whether new laws aiming to increase U.S. competitiveness are gaining traction, how the United States can best compete with China, and why America (and New Jersey, of course!) is uniquely positioned to lead the world in manufacturing. Photo courtesy of Rep. Mikie Sherrill's office

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who represents Silicon Valley and is a member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, argues that American leadership in innovation depends on the nation’s manufacturing strength. The Congressman shares his insight into America’s greatest challenges in an economic rebalancing with China and strategy for reestablishing America’s manufacturing superpo...

Jennifer Harris, who served as the special assistant to the president and senior director for International Economics under President Biden, breaks down the motivations behind the White House's industrial policy push and the biggest obstacles of that policy going forward. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Harris

In a market saturated by imports, Los Angeles-based fitness brand Runyon Canyon Apparel is keeping its clothing exclusively American-made. Founder Tony Nuccio shares why he transitioned from a thriving career in the music industry to American manufacturing and his joint effort to protect wildlife. Photo courtesy of Runyon Canyon Apparel

The vast majority of the world’s single-use plastic is coming in from China and ending up as pollution in our local ecosystems. But this woman-, minority- and veteran-owned company is working to change that with its compostable, eco-friendly single-use cutlery, carryout containers, straws and so much more. Terravive Founder and CEO Julianna Keeling and Vice President and COO Joe Swider share how t...

Emily de La Bruyère of the Force Distance Times returns to the podcast to outline Beijing's Little Giants and Single Champions programs and their implications for U.S. industrial policy.  Getty Images

The newly formed House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) held its first hearing at the end of February, spotlighting the CCP's threat to America's economic and national security. Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul joined former national security advisers H.R. McMaster and Matthew Pottinger as well as human rights advocate Tong Yi in testifying before the c...

Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) shares why she thinks Democrats need to prioritize the issues of America’s Heartland — part of the impetus behind her decision to form the Heartland Caucus — and what the government can do to ensure that the electric vehicles of today and tomorrow are Made in America. Photo courtesy of Rep. Debbie Dingell

The United States depends on China and India for some of its most critical medicines, but one Central Virginia organization is working to change that. Infused with more than $100 million in public-private funding, including from the national Build Back Better Regional Challenge program, the Alliance for Building Better Medicine is cultivating a hub in the Richmond-Petersburgh region for the resear...

We're covering the major manufacturing news you need to know as we close January out! Listen in to learn about a bill aiming to keep taxpayer-funded inventions Made in America, Boston's contract with a Chinese state-owned rail car company that's wreaked havoc since its start, and a major name brand that committed Made in America fraud. Join Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul...

A new report produced by Sheffield Hallam University’s Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice and the independent nonprofit research organization NomoGaia reveals that the world’s biggest car brands, including Volkswagen, BMW, Honda, Ford, GM, Stellantis, Tesla and more, are at high risk of sourcing from companies linked to forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. T...

When the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) was signed into law, it made big waves in the United States electric vehicle (EV) industry. While the consumer tax credits for EVs are an obvious boon to domestic manufacturing, the IRA’s incentives for U.S. battery production are equally significant. But can the U.S. leverage the opportunity quickly enough? Zachary Shahan, the CEO and chief editor of...

When the briefcase Morgan Beals designed was awarded Best Student-Made Handbag at the International Handbag Designer Awards in 2014, her career kicked into overdrive. But, in 2015, she decided to set her own course and launched Morgan Rhea, her own Made in America luxury leather accessories studio. Listen in for how a student contest design has blossomed into a thriving business in South Charlesto...

Sunny Day Designs Owner & Designer Shelley Schmidt grew up with a behind-the-scenes perspective on manufacturing through her family's hat factory in Missouri. So, when she decided to launch her own company selling home decor, stationery, and more, bedecked with her own playful patterns, Schmidt knew that she had the opportunity to create valuable jobs in the United States. Schmidt shares why Made...

The 2022 Made in America Holiday Gift Guide is out! Though this year’s Made in Connecticut gift pick is new to us, Mystic Knotwork has been around since 1957. Founded by a WWII veteran who was a leader in the nautical arts community, Mystic Knotwork is preserving the tradition of nautical knots. But the founder’s grandson, Matt Beaudoin, is ushering the business into the modern era. Here’s how he’...

Financial Times Global Business Columnist and Associate Editor Rana Foroohar isn’t buying neoliberalism’s myths about globalization. But what comes next? In her new book, “Homecoming: The Path to Prosperity in a Post Global World,” Foroohar examines where the U.S. economy is going. Photo courtesy of Rana Foroohar

Nathan Picarsic, Horizon Advisory co-founder and Foundation for Defense of Democracies senior fellow, shares how private companies are dodging U.S. export restrictions to trade with the enemy and what the United States must do to protect its innovation and national security. Getty Images