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Allowing crucial pro-manufacturing tax provisions to expire will be devastating for the U.S. economy, according to a landmark EY released today by the 17�Թ�����.
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What’s going on: “Pro-growth tax policies from President Trump’s 2017 tax reforms were rocket fuel for manufacturers and made the U.S. economy more competitive on a global scale,” 17�Թ����� President and CEO Jay Timmons .

But in 2022, key provisions began to expire—and additional tax reform measures are scheduled to sunset at the end of this year. If Congress doesn’t preserve these pro-growth policies, the U.S. economy will face dire consequences:

• Nearly 6 million jobs will be put at risk.
• Approximately $540 billion in employee compensation will be lost.
• U.S. GDP will be reduced by $1.1 trillion.

Manufacturing impact: The manufacturing industry will bear the brunt of this economic damage, according to the study.

• More than 1.1 million manufacturing jobs and $126 billion in manufacturing worker wages are on the line if Congress does not preserve critical pro-manufacturing policies from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.����

The onus is on Congress: “It is the responsibility of Congress to act quickly so we can protect Americans’ livelihoods, prevent wage decreases and avoid the largest tax hike in history,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).
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Critical players: The U.S. economy relies heavily on manufacturers, which in turn rely on competitive tax policy—and that makes these provisions’ renewal crucial, said Johnson & Johnson Executive Vice President and Chief Technical Operations & Risk Officer and 17�Թ����� Board Chair Kathy Wengel.

• “[M]anufacturers—both large and small—drive innovation, create opportunity and strengthen communities across the country. … Maintaining competitive tax policy is essential to sustaining this momentum.”������

What we’re doing: The 17�Թ����� continues its blitz following the study’s release.

• This morning, Courtney Silver, president and owner of North Carolina–based precision machining company Ketchie and immediate past chair of the 17�Թ�����’s Small and Medium Manufacturers Group, is testifying at a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on the need to make pro-manufacturing TCJA reforms permanent.
• At 4:30 p.m. EST today, the 17�Թ����� will hold a press conference on Capitol Hill announcing the study’s launch. Speakers will include Timmons, Speaker Johnson, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID). Watch live .

The outgoing Biden administration is undermining a U.S. manufacturer in its high-stakes dispute with the Mexican government by “seeking to erode investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) protections under U.S. trade agreements with Colombia, Mexico and Canada,” a recent (subscription) editorial revealed.

The problem: ISDS protections safeguard U.S. investments from foreign governments seeking to interfere with or appropriate them, as the predicament of Vulcan Materials Company shows.

• Vulcan has been embroiled in a dispute with the Mexican government since 2018, when the government shut down some of its quarrying operations, according to Chairman and CEO J. Thomas Hill.
• The unwarranted shutdown forced the company to pursue arbitration under NAFTA, but the situation only got worse—former Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador ordered all of Vulcan’s operations to cease in May 2022, including at a deepwater port the company built in the early 1990s.
• Now, the company is expecting its second round of arbitration to be decided by mid-2025—unless the Biden administration guts the investor protections in the U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement, handing a victory (and a key port) to the Mexican government.

Congressional fury: Both Congress and Vulcan itself learned of the administration’s efforts via The Wall Street Journal editorial, instead of directly from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. This is particularly egregious because the USTR is required to consult with Congress on investment obligations in trade deals.

• Bipartisan members of Congress have expressed their outrage, with Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) in The Wall Street Journal (subscription) that “the Biden administration is negotiating away the due process of Americans, including my constituents, in the waning days of this lame-duck administration.”
• On Dec. 20, three bipartisan senators joined Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) in the USTR’s efforts on the Senate floor. “If Mexico is allowed to target, without repercussion, a company like Vulcan, one that employs thousands of Americans, and has operated responsibly in Mexico for decades, that means no American business is safe in Mexico,” Sen. Hagerty said.
• Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) joined both Sens. Britt and Hagerty in calling on Congress to pass the Defending American Property Abroad Act, which would impose penalties on Western Hemisphere countries that unlawfully seize the assets of American firms.

The 17�Թ����� says: The 17�Թ����� is calling on the USTR to halt this effort immediately, said 17�Թ����� Vice President of International Policy Andrea Durkin.

• “ISDS has a legitimate role in U.S. trade policy to ensure our manufacturers receive fair and equitable treatment by foreign governments and to protect against egregious expropriation or nationalization of U.S. investments without adequate and effective compensation.”
• “U.S. manufacturers are entitled—at a minimum—to be consulted about any proposed changes that would impact their right to due process in ongoing cases.”

The Biden administration’s ban on new offshore oil and gas drilling in most American coastal waters “sets a bad precedent for the country,” the 17�Թ����� Monday.

What’s going on: The decision, which comes just two weeks before President Trump takes office, applies to “new drilling off the entire East Coast, as well as California, Oregon and Washington state” and “some drilling off Alaska’s coast in portions of the Northern Bering Sea and in the eastern Gulf of Mexico” ().

• Though there is currently no active drilling in the Atlantic and most U.S. offshore oil and gas production comes from the central and western Gulf of Mexico, the area placed under the ban is the largest ever “formally taken off the table for drilling by a president.”
• In response, President Trump on Monday said he would “unban it immediately” ().

Why it’s a problem: The moratorium could prove harder for Trump to undo than other 11th-hour moves by Biden. That’s in large part because of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which gives U.S. presidents the right to block drilling in certain areas but not the right to reinstate it.

• However, Congress could work with the new president to undo the move—and it should, Timmons said.��“Manufacturers are committed to working with Congress and [President Trump] to scale back this harmful decision that undermines American energy dominance.”

Several last-minute regulatory actions by the outgoing Biden Treasury Department are “clear example[s] of regulatory overreach” that should be withdrawn immediately, the 17�Թ����� told the Biden administration recently.

What’s going on: The Treasury Department has proposed new guidance and regulations that, if finalized, would change the IRS’s treatment of related-party transactions, particularly as they relate to partnerships.

• The proposed standards would impose significant reporting obligations on manufacturers while also drastically changing the tax treatment of these commonplace payments.
• Additionally, Treasury has proposed new rules governing “dual consolidated losses” that would make it more difficult for manufacturers operating in multiple jurisdictions around the world to utilize their tax losses appropriately.

Why it’s problematic: The proposed standards are outside Treasury’s statutory authority and are “unlikely to withstand inevitable judicial scrutiny,” the 17�Թ����� the agency at the end of 2024.

• In December, the 17�Թ����� laid out the legal issues endemic to Treasury’s proposals, identifying both substantive and process-related issues that undermine each action.
• The submission builds on manufacturers’ comments to the agency on the proposals themselves: The 17�Թ����� said that the related-party guidance was “wholly unauthorized, unsupported and unsupportable” and told the agency that the related-party rules “would impose an undue burden on taxpayers that outweighs any potential compliance benefit.”
• It added that the dual consolidated loss proposal was “internally inconsistent” and “fail[ed] to reflect reasoned decision-making.”

Regulatory onslaught: The 17�Թ����� has been at the forefront of pushing back on the Biden administration’s regulatory onslaught, which costs manufacturers upward of $350 billion every year.

• Shortly after the 2024 presidential election, the 17�Թ����� led a group of more than 100 manufacturing associations in the incoming Trump administration to “address burdensome regulations that are stifling investment, making us less competitive in the world, limiting innovation and threatening the very jobs we are all working to create right here in America.”

What’s next: The 17�Թ����� is calling on the Biden Treasury Department not to finalize these proposals in the administration’s final days, but rather to pause or withdraw the rules in question until the Trump administration takes office.
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Washington, D.C. – Following the publication of new final guidance by the U.S. Department of Treasury for the hydrogen production tax credit, 17�Թ����� President and CEO Jay Timmons released the following statement:

“America leads when we unleash all our energy potential, including hydrogen, American natural gas, nuclear and more. With a strong build-out of hydrogen production facilities, we will be able to add more sources of reliable energy for manufacturers, power plants and communities while cementing our energy dominance.

“The 17�Թ����� has advocated consistently for flexibility in the credit using project-specific emissions data rather than national or regional averages. The Biden administration’s guidance provides manufacturers with an important step forward. But for hydrogen to truly become a game-changing energy source, we need to address restrictions that make it harder to cost-compete on a global scale. A robust and flexible hydrogen industry will also be a major boon to the production and utilization of American natural gas as well as American nuclear power.

“Under President Donald Trump’s leadership, we have an opportunity to cut taxes, slash red tape and unleash permitting reform—turning this credit into a powerful tool for American energy leadership and fuel security. It’s time to build on this momentum and ensure these incentives deliver on their full promise for America’s manufacturers, workers and economy.”

-17�Թ�����-

The 17�Թ����� is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs nearly 13 million men and women, contributes $2.91 trillion to the U.S. economy annually and accounts for 53% of private-sector research and development. The 17�Թ����� is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States. For more information about the 17�Թ����� or to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, please visit��.

Manufacturers support the policy recommendations laid out in the House of Representatives’ newly released on artificial intelligence, the 17�Թ����� said Tuesday.

What’s going on: The Bipartisan House Task Force Report on Artificial Intelligence contains AI-related recommendations for implementation by Congress.

• Drafted by the House AI Task Force—12 Republicans and 12 Democrats—the 273-page document “highlights America’s leadership in its approach to responsible AI innovation while considering guardrails that may be appropriate to safeguard the nation against current and emerging threats,” the task force’s co-chairs, Reps. Jay Obernolte (R-CA) and Ted Lieu (D-CA), wrote in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) at the beginning of the report.

The details: The task force report includes many recommendations that the 17�Թ����� supports, including the following:

• Promote innovation: “As the global leader in AI development and deployment, the United States is best positioned to responsibly enable the potential of this transformative technology for all. To maintain this leadership and enable the U.S. economy to harness the full benefits of AI, policymakers should continue to promote AI innovation.”
• Safeguard against harm: “A thoughtful, risk-based approach to AI governance can promote innovation rather than stifle it.”
• Plan for power needs: “Planning properly now for new power generation and transmission is critical for AI innovation and adoption.”
• Develop an AI-ready workforce: “Successful collaborations between educational institutions, government and industries should effectively align education and workforce development with market needs and emerging technologies.”
• Protect privacy: Congress should “[e]nsure privacy laws are generally applicable and technology-neutral.”
• Make compliance feasible: Lawmakers should ensure that AI regulatory compliance is not unduly burdensome for small businesses
• Increase cooperation: Bolster collaboration between the government, industry and academia to boost innovation and expand markets.

17�Թ����� alignment: In May, the 17�Թ����� released “,” its own report on AI’s deployment in the manufacturing sector and an accompanying list of suggested policy actions for Congress to take.

• The 17�Թ����� briefed legislators on its report in September.

Next steps: The 17�Թ����� will work closely with policymakers in Congress and the incoming administration to bolster AI innovation in manufacturing, based on shared policy goals. ����

Additionally, manufacturers will continue to call on Congress to pass federal data privacy legislation that “preempt[s] state privacy regulations [and] resolve[s] conflicting requirements in different states”—an important issue for the use of AI where the House report does not prescribe a policy solution.

The 17�Թ����� is President Trump to reconsider the Biden administration’s misguided findings regarding new liquefied natural gas export permits, following the release of a Department of Energy study claiming that increased permit numbers would have negative effects on the nation.
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What’s going on: The Department of Energy’s analysis, released Tuesday, holds “that ‘unfettered’ shipments of the fuel would make domestic prices rise … [and would] displace more renewables” ().

• However, the “report from Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm is clearly a politically motivated document designed for an audience who believes no form of carbon-based energy is acceptable,” 17�Թ����� President and CEO Jay Timmons said. “LNG exports play a crucial role in reducing emissions by providing cleaner energy alternatives to countries reliant on higher emission sources.”�� ��

What the ban’s done: The result of the Biden administration’s —issued in January—on the issuance of new U.S. LNG export permits has been “chilled energy investment, costing the country manufacturing jobs and holding us back from achieving energy dominance on the world stage,” Timmons continued.

• “The DOE’s report claims to be concerned about security, but the actions of this administration on LNG only serve to incentivize Europe to purchase natural gas from Russia.”����

A popular, key energy source: U.S. LNG is far cleaner than Russian LNG (). Furthermore, an October by the 17�Թ����� and PwC found that U.S. LNG is a significant and crucial contributor to gross domestic product, as well as an important source of jobs and federal, state and local taxes.

• What’s more, Americans want to keep exporting it. In a March 17�Թ����� of 1,000 registered voters, more than 87% said they believe the U.S. should continue to export LNG.������

The bottom line: “The data is clear: LNG exports are a driving force for economic growth and job creation in the United States,” Timmons concluded. “Halting LNG export licenses as suggested would threaten nearly a million jobs and undermine our nation’s economic stability. The 17�Թ����� asks President Trump to end this political war on the energy manufacturers that power our economy, fuel job growth and help ensure America’s national security.”��

Washington, D.C. – Following the release of Congress’ year-end government funding package, 17�Թ����� President and CEO Jay Timmons released the following statement on the inclusion of pharmacy benefit manager reforms:

“Manufacturers commend House Speaker Mike Johnson, committee leadership and reform champions for their work on a government funding package that tackles rising health care costs via important PBM reforms. The 17�Թ����� has long championed congressional efforts to rein in PBMs, underregulated middlemen that increase health care costs for manufacturers and manufacturing workers. The government funding package released today will increase transparency into these powerful actors, ensure they pass rebates on to patients and plan sponsors and delink their compensation from drug costs. These are vital steps toward lowering Americans’ health care costs—the top business challenge facing manufacturers, according to the most recent Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey—and Congress should act swiftly to pass this package of much-needed reforms.

“Although permitting reform was not included in the final package, we are confident that President Donald Trump will continue to focus on the urgent need to enact comprehensive permitting reform. We look forward to working with incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Speaker Johnson and their colleagues in congressional leadership to ensure manufacturers can build a more prosperous nation.”

-17�Թ�����-

The 17�Թ����� is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs nearly 13 million men and women, contributes $2.91 trillion to the U.S. economy annually and accounts for 53% of private-sector research and development. The 17�Թ����� is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States. For more information about the 17�Թ����� or to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, please visit��.

Washington, D.C. – The 17�Թ����� today responded to the Department of Energy’s report on liquefied natural gas exports and highlighted the harmful impact of the DOE’s misguided attempts to restrict new LNG export terminals.

A comprehensive study conducted by the 17�Թ�����, in collaboration with PwC, reveals that robust LNG export operations could support more than 900,000 jobs, contribute up to $216 billion to U.S. GDP and generate $46 billion in tax revenue by 2044. Furthermore, the LNG sector supports approximately 222,450 jobs, resulting in $23.2 billion in labor income, and contributes $43.8 billion to the national GDP.

“Today’s report from Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm is clearly a politically motivated document designed for an audience who believes no form of carbon-based energy is acceptable. LNG exports play a crucial role in reducing emissions by providing cleaner energy alternatives to countries reliant on higher emission sources,” said 17�Թ����� President and CEO Jay Timmons.

“The result of the LNG export ban that has been in place since January is chilled energy investment, costing the country manufacturing jobs and holding us back from achieving energy dominance on the world stage. The DOE’s report claims to be concerned about security, but the actions of this administration on LNG only serve to incentivize Europe to purchase natural gas from Russia.

“The data is clear: LNG exports are a driving force for economic growth and job creation in the United States. Halting LNG export licenses as suggested would threaten nearly a million jobs and undermine our nation’s economic stability. The 17�Թ����� asks President Trump to end this political war on the energy manufacturers that power our economy, fuel job growth and help ensure America’s national security.”

-17�Թ�����-

The 17�Թ����� is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs nearly 13 million men and women, contributes $2.91 trillion to the U.S. economy annually and accounts for 53% of private-sector research and development. The 17�Թ����� is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States. For more information about the 17�Թ����� or to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, please visit��

In its current form, the Environmental Protection Agency’s recent proposal to add specific per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and PFAS categories to a database of toxic chemicals would place an unnecessary hardship on manufacturers, the 17�Թ����� the agency recently.
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What’s going on: In October, the EPA published draft rules that would add 16 individual PFAS and 15 PFAS categories representing more than 100 individual PFAS to its Toxic Release Inventory, a list of potentially hazardous chemical release and waste management activities taking place in the U.S.

• Companies producing or manufacturing products with chemistries added to the TRI are required to complete and submit inventory forms each year for the chemicals they make and use over established limits.
• “The 17�Թ����� believes this proposed rule will create unduly burdensome compliance requirements and increase costs for manufacturers and consumers as written,”��17�Թ����� Vice President of Domestic Policy Chris Phalen said this month.

What should happen: The EPA should “adopt the following approaches to the proposed rulemaking”:

• Stay the proposal to give the public more time to comment on it.
• Revise the proposed PFAS and PFAS category additions to reflect “a meaningful baseline of scientific evidence” and ensure that “the scientific evidence justifying the listing[s] [is] supported by peer review and public comment.”
• List individually every PFAS added to the TRI and make each one identifiable.
• Narrow the group of PFAS listed as “chemicals of special concern” to reflect the scope of authority granted to the EPA by the fiscal year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act.

Why it’s important: “While the EPA estimates this proposed rule would result in up to 1,110 TRI reporting forms annually at an estimated cost of up to $6.6 million for its first year and up to $3.1 million for subsequent years, we anticipate the compliance costs to manufacturers will be significantly higher,” Phalen continued.

• If finalized as written, the rule will force manufacturers to hire additional workers and consultants, train employees on proper reporting processes, spend huge sums of money on testing and verifying results and much more.
• The result: “a costly drain on [manufacturers’] resources … [that] will lead to a rise in operational and production costs far above the EPA’s cost estimates for the proposed rule.”