MIAA in the Press

 

What If Things Were Made in America Again: One Man’s Plan

 

MIAA Founder Jim Stuber was featured in a story by Jonathan Russo in Worth magazine.  For the full story, click here.  Excerpts appear below:

 

What If Things Were Made in America Again: One Man's Plan

 

By Jonathan Russo

Worth.com

Published on September 29, 2020

 

James A. Stuber could not have imagined his 2017 book, What if Things Were Made in America Again, would resonate so clearly and loudly in 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic, the militaristic nationalist rise of China and the focus on impact investing. Not only these events, but also the growing awareness of the environmental consequences of our purchases. Finally, addressing the political and social instability caused by the shrunken industrial economy, which is now a priority.

All these above and more have come together to make Stuber’s subject the center of America’s economic and political discussion.

. . .

 

Like the Bible, his book starts at the beginning: post-WWII foreign and economic policies that rebuilt Europe and Japan. Then, he moves on to China and the era of globalization. From there, he analyzes how we allowed, even “promoted and encouraged,” the sourcing of everything from the lowest wage suppliers Walmart scoured the world to find. In the chapter “How did this work out?,” using scores of charts and tables, he demonstrates that the answer is, “Not very well.” Other chapters cover topics like “The vicious circle and the hollow economy.”

There is no political party ax-grinding in his analysis. A subhead in chapter 10 for example states, “Our elites have failed us.” Not for one second does he believe the academic theorists and their free-trade-lifts-all-boats mantras. A visit to the thousands of abandoned American factories, closed and reopened in China, Vietnam and Mexico, is all he needs to know that no economic plan, like battles in war, survives the first contact with the enemy. The enemy in this case is us. “We shipped our jobs overseas; no one came here and stole them.” Well, not exactly. He points out how the hundreds of subsidies, incentives and outright mercantile policies of our trading partners intentionally created a very uneven playing field.

. . .

 

He believes that policymakers are now profoundly aware of their past mistakes. He is pleased to see that both parties and their presidential candidates have strong platforms promoting Made in America products. “No sentient politician can ignore the agony of the American worker and the aggressive rise of China any longer.”

Will this be easy? “Yes and no,” Stuber says. “Basically, we have no choice. As we send higher-paying tech, medical and data jobs to India and Eastern Europe, we are going to hollow out yet another stratum of society. The offshoring pain is going to be felt by people who thought it could not happen to them.” He imagines a common cause will awaken almost everyone (except international investment bankers) to the disaster of offshoring work.

. . .

 

 

CPA Praises FTC Decision on ‘Made in USA’ Labeling

 

[CPA Press Release September 15, 2020]

 

New federal rule could eliminate fraudulent product claims

 

Washington. The Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) today praised the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for strengthening its rules governing “Made in USA” product claims. CPA, which had actively pushed the FTC to update its policy on products sold in the United States, believes the new rule could help to eliminate misleading labels on consumer goods.

 

“We’re pleased to see the FTC take this much-needed action,” said Greg Owens, CEO of Sherrill Manufacturing/Liberty Tabletop and a Co-Chair of CPA's Buy American committee. “There is a vast array of products that claim to be ‘American-made.’ They’re often accompanied by an American flag and a less prominent qualification about ‘globally sourced materials.’ These kinds of descriptions often mislead consumers or give a false impression that a product is indeed manufactured in the United States.”

 

For decades, the FTC relied on Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act to enforce Made in USA claims. But the agency has been hamstrung by a provision barring penalties against first-time offenders, something the new rule will address. However, CPA finds it unfortunate that two of the five FTC Commissioners, Phillips and Wilson, wrote that this regulation should apply only to physical labels and not online product advertising. 

Michael Stumo, CEO of the CPA, commented on the limits proposed by Phillips and Wilson, “When it comes time for individuals to be appointed to the Federal Trade Commission, we must be alert and engaged to ensure we get commissioners who will put the interests of America’s consumers and industry first.”

 

The new FTC rule specifies that it is a deceptive act to label any product as ‘Made in USA’ unless “the final assembly or processing of the product occurs in the United States, all significant processing that goes into the product occurs in the United States, and all or virtually all ingredients or components of the product are made and sourced in the United States.” Products not in compliance shall be treated as a violation of FTC rules regarding “unfair or deceptive acts or practices.”

 

“America’s consumers deserve the most accurate product labeling possible,” said James Stuber, President of Alltham P.B.C and a Co-Chair of CPA's Buy American committee. “Too many imports, particularly from China, are produced with shoddy workmanship and unsafe materials. Despite this, companies continue to market inferior goods while cynically using claims of ‘Made in USA’ to mislead consumers. We’re hopeful that the FTC’s action will help to eliminate these unsafe imports.”

 

In addition to promoting American-Made products, CPA advocates a ‘Made in America 2030’ plan to rebuild economic and national security. 

 

https://www.prosperousamerica.org/cpa_praises_ftc_decision_on_made_in_usa_labeling

 

 

 

Q & A: Want to See More American-Made Stuff? Buy More American-Made Stuff.

 

MIAA founder Jim Stuber was featured in a Q &A on Manufacture This, the Alliance for American Manufacturing Blog.  For the full story, click here.  Excerpts appear below:

 

 

Q&A: Want to See More American-Made Stuff? Buy More American-Made Stuff.

By Jeffrey Bonior

Manufacture This

Thursday, May 10, 2018

 

. . .

 

JB: Your book touches on all things made in America, but how important is it for the U.S. to have a thriving industrial base like the steel and automotive industries?

 

JS: My passion for this grew out of my family working in the steel mills in Pittsburgh and Steubenville. The mill where The Deer Hunter was filmed in Mingo Junction, Ohio is the town where my parents grew up in and all my family worked. I pick up the story in in the book in 1945 when our soldiers were fighting their way across Europe and the islands of the Pacific and there were a couple of places where the Japanese and Germans both saw these columns and columns of American tanks, jeeps and trucks and realized what they were up against. There was a mill in California that made all of the Liberty Ships and it was really America’s industrial might, the core of which was steelmaking, that carried the day in World War II.

 

Now we are locked in another geopolitical fight with China and Russia and not realizing the importance from a security standpoint of the steel industry. I’ve concluded no economy is strong without a strong manufacturing sector. And to rely on other countries for either the raw steel or things in the steel supply chain is just hollowing out our economy. You need steel for security and you need steel for a strong economy.

. . .

 

Made in America: Consumers could have more influence than the White House

MIAA founder Jim Stuber was featured in a story by Sinclair Broadcasting Group on the White House’s “Buy American Week.”  For the full story, click here.  Excerpts appear below:

 

 

Made in America: Consumers could have more influence than the White House

by Leandra Bernstein

Monday, July 17th 2017

Sinclair Broadcasting Group

. . .

For decades, Americans have exercised that preference for cheaper goods, cheaper materials and cheaper labor. That has meant less preference for higher priced American-made products and the American workers who make them.

According to James Stuber, author of the 2016 book 'What If Things Were Made in America Again,' the only way to reverse that trend is for consumers to decide to do it.

"The answer has been staring us in the face all this time. The consumers could solve this problem just by our buying choices," Stuber said. "There's a solution that is ready at hand, because consumers, we're 70 percent of the economy. If we decided we wanted to bring these jobs back, we could."

. . .

But there are doubts about how much of an effect Trump can have on the real driver of the economy, consumption.

"There are big limitations on what he can get done," Stuber explained. "As long as consumers are willing to buy the less expensive foreign made things, then it’s really not possible for the U.S. manufacturer to say, 'Please buy my products.' ... As long as people are prepared to buy the Buick made in China or the Ford made in Mexico, we won't get anywhere renegotiating trade deals."

Trump could do the most good by bringing attention to the problem of America's appetite for foreign made goods and promoting the U.S. government, and companies and consumers to invest in those products.

"I think awareness of the problem is very important and that's where President Trump or any president can do the most good," Stuber noted. "If people became aware of how much of a problem this is causing, and really decided that it was important to them, it's something we could turn around right away."

 

 

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