The Manufacturing Report

We had planned to devote this episode to analysis of America’s manufacturing resurgence in honor of Manufacturing Day on Oct. 7, but some especially inflammatory comments from Peterson Institute for International Economics President Adam Posen required response, so we’re sounding off. But don’t worry, Team AAM also breaks down all of this week’s great manufacturing news. Getty Images

Levi's is one of the longest-lasting apparel brands on the market, while newcomer Shein took over the fast fashion landscape overnight. But both are facing criticism for their labor and environmental practices. Remake CEO and Founder Ayesha Barenblat joins the podcast to talk about how U.S. trade policy, international agreements and a piece of legislation called the FABRIC Act can help improve lab...

There's a lot that President Biden gets right on China. Why doesn't the rest of his administration agree? Robert Kuttner, co-founder and co-editor of The American Prospect, breaks down what's keeping the Biden administration from completely committing to its doctrine on China and what a coherent approach to dealings with Beijing could achieve. Official White House Photo by Cameron Smith

Start your students’ year right by stocking up on American-made and union-made school supplies. Alliance for American Manufacturing's own Elizabeth Brotherton-Bunch and Cat Adams talk about their favorite Made in America school gear and tips for elementary all the way through college. Photo by Nick Amoscato via Flickr

Nearly 3,000 members and allies of the United Steelworkers met in Las Vegas last week for the union’s first in-person constitutional convention since 2017. Several of America’s top government leadership joined the event to champion the power of America’s workers, including United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai. We share the highlights from her speech and our conversations with workers a...

The International Trade Commission (ITC) hosted a marathon three-day hearing this July to examine the impacts of Section 232 on steel and aluminum imports and Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports. As you might expect, industry executives and trade lawyers are mainstays at these hearings like these, but the voice ITC officials really need to hear is that of America’s workers. In this episode, we...

Semiconductors are the powerhouses of virtually all of our advanced technology, but they require printed circuit boards (PCBs) to run. Though the United States once produced more than 26% of the world’s PCBs, offshoring has eviscerated America’s microelectronics manufacturing industry, leaving only 4% of PCBs now Made in America. There’s a new bill that could change that. Printed Circuit Board Ass...

Robert Bettinardi had a passion for golf, and he had manufacturing expertise. He merged the two and almost a year and many pounds of steel later, he had milled his own putter. Bettinardi went on to manufacture for Titleist and Scotty Cameron before establishing family-owned putter brand Bettinardi Golf, which makes “the Ferrari” of putters from start to finish at Bettinardi’s factory just outside...

It's estimated that 2.1 million factory jobs will remain unfilled by 2030. However, efforts to increase equity in manufacturing promise to substantially expand the workforce and create pathways to the middle class for underserved communities. A new project coordinated by the Century Foundation (TCF) and the Urban Manufacturing Alliance examines the vital role community colleges play in this. TCF F...

When the Biden administration released its year-long supply chain review — a report that was written by seven federal agencies and totaled in more than 1,300 pages — on Feb. 24, its import was understandably dwarfed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that day. However, the historic report reveals much about the Biden administration’s commitment to green industrial policy. Roosevelt Institute Director...

Since the Commerce Department first announced its plans to investigate whether Chinese solar panel manufacturers have been circumventing U.S. duties, the media has been whipped into a frenzy. And they’ve been playing right into the hands of a powerful special interest group – the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) – that’s made it its mission to cancel Commerce’s inquiry. David Dayen, the...

The Commerce Department is investigating whether Chinese companies are routing solar panels through other countries to avoid U.S. duties. But this relatively routine trade case has erupted into a firestorm, with a special interest group undertaking a highly-organized and well-funded media campaign to cancel it. Much of their ire has been directed at Auxin Solar Inc., the California solar panel mak...

New Hampshire is poised to join dozens of other states and the federal government in passing legislation that would reinvest taxpayer dollars into local workers and communities. State Sen. Tom Sherman shares how the bill has bridged the partisan divide in its aim of cultivating a more robust and independent domestic manufacturing base for the state's most vital infrastructure. Getty Images

When Mitch Cahn founded his custom apparel and accessory company, Unionwear, committing to a unionized workforce was one of his first steps. Listen in for why it’s been the foundation of his success and how the Newark, N.J., company is evolving to be cost-competitive with even offshore manufacturers and navigating the challenges of the current labor market. Photo courtesy Unionwear

Guatemala-born Consuelo Poland Lockhart had long planned a career in the arts when a foray into welding sparked a new trajectory. Now, she’s making it her mission to show Latina and non-Latina women in Central Indiana that they have a place behind the blowtorch with her nonprofit, Latinas Welding Guild. Photo by Jonathan Galeano

As Russia's unrestrained aggression and its alliance with China roils geopolitics, America's relationship with Beijing is under ever greater pressure. Isaac Stone Fish, CEO of research firm Strategy Risks and author of "America Second: How America's Elites Are Making China Stronger", reveals the deep network of China's influence in America's highest circles of power that shapes the United States'...

Supply chain chaos and geopolitical unrest is forcing trade policy and domestic manufacturing to “the middle of the conversation” for policymakers and brands alike. But American Giant, the Made in America apparel brand, is well prepared to offer some answers. Listen in for how American Giant CEO Bayard Winthrop is expanding his business and investing in the men and women who make America work. Pho...

As the nation tuned into this year’s State of the Union address, a special few Americans were invited to join First Lady Jill Biden in the audience. Second-generation steelworker and U.S. Army veteran Joseph “JoJo” Burgess was among those honored guests. But this wasn’t Burgess’s first time meeting President Biden. Official White House Photo by Erin Scott

More than 5 million jobs were lost over the past two decades due to the impacts of globalization, and workers of color were hit the hardest, according to new research from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). National Economic Association President Valerie Wilson, an author of the EPI report, joins the podcast to share how smart policy can increase valuable manufacturing jobs for all workers. And,...

Ben Napier, who stars in HGTV's "Home Town" alongside his wife Erin, dreamed of opening his own factory since childhood. Now he’s opened a factory to make butcher blocks, creating the family-supporting manufacturing jobs that he hopes will be his legacy. Listen in for Ben’s plan for the Scotsman Manufacturing Company factory — and how the 1995 movie “Tommy Boy” inspired it. Check out our past inte...

Bringing transparency to federal purchasing and an innovative approach to expanding the federal government’s reliance on domestic supply chains, the Made in America Office (MIAO) has been hard at work since its creation via President Biden's executive order one year ago. Celeste Drake, the office’s first director, joins the podcast to share what the MIAO has accomplished so far and the project tha...

Amid a growing global outcry against rampant human rights abuses, China is set to host the Winter 2022 Olympics. In this episode, the Human Rights Watch’s Director of Global Initiatives, Minky Worden, explains why the International Olympics Committee and the Olympics corporate sponsors must prove that its supply chains are free of forced labor. Photo by llee_wu via Flickr

Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) Senior Vice President for Government Affairs and Policy Scott Boos, AAM Senior Vice President for Communications Elizabeth Brotherton-Bunch, host Scott Paul examine the top manufacturing news stories of 2021 and analyze what lies on the horizon of 2022. Photo courtesy Kevin Dooley via Flickr

Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch Director Lori Wallach reflects on the 20th anniversary of China's entry into the World Trade Organization(WTO). Since its initiation into the trading system, hopes for the country's liberalization have not come to fruition, and America's working class has been hollowed out. In this episode, Wallach and Scott Paul discuss how the United States can mitigate the da...

Under President Biden’s Build Back Better plan, billions of federal dollars have been poured into clean energy deployment in the United States, with more possibly on the way. But achieving our climate goals depends on establishing a clean energy supply chain here at home. Center for American Progress Senior Fellow Mike Williams shares why building a robust clean energy supply chain in the U.S. mat...