I recently attended the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) conference, where speakers talked a lot about the manufacturing sector and what could be on the horizon from both an economic and political outlook. NAM’s leadership is advocating for several items on the agenda in D.C. and from the new Trump administration, many of which are pro-manufacturing and would directly impact our industry. We will get into some of those requests, as well as what we might expect later in 2025.
As 2024 ended, we saw a drop in manufacturing employment, although the overall labor market suggested strength. While corporate tax reform remains at the top of the list of NAM’s priorities for the Trump administration, there are some other advocacy goals NAM has outlined, including instituting a regulatory reset, reversing chemical regulations such as PFAS rules and protecting manufacturers’ intellectual property rights.
Primary Business Challenges
NAM’s outlook survey reports the number one concern among businesses as of the end of 2024 is the rising costs of health care and insurance. Second is a weaker domestic economy, followed by trade uncertainties and the challenges of attracting and retaining a quality workforce. Others who responded to the survey cited an unfavorable business climate, increased raw materials costs and supply chain issues as further challenges to their ability to do business. NAM’s efforts in working with the administration seek to alleviate some of these challenges.
Regulatory Reset
NAM wrote a letter to President Trump about manufacturing regulations and included a list of what NAM called some of the highest-priority regulations that need action. These items included an updated national interest assessment and for the administration to engage with all sectors of manufacturing to understand how to ensure Inflation Reduction Act credits are impactful to American jobs and competitiveness, among other asks.
Reversing Chemical Regulations
NAM is asking the Trump administration to work closely with manufacturers on a variety of chemicals regulations to ensure that the manufacturing supply chain can grow and compete globally. They write that the previous administration finalized a suite of “overly burdensome and unworkable regulations of PFAS chemicals” and that there is a need for the negotiation of a strong, workable UN Global Plastics Treaty that supports manufacturing supply chains.
Protecting Intellectual Property
When it comes to the protection of intellectual property, NAM asks for the withdrawal of the Biden administration’s “march-in” guidance and the protection of manufacturers’ intellectual property rights. They also request a pause in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s rulemaking on heat standard and for reconsideration of OSHA’s walkaround rule, the Department of Labor’s overtime rule and the Federal Trade Commission’s ban on non-compete agreements.
What to Expect Later in 2025
Depending on what executive orders take hold and what policy actions President Trump ends up pursuing, Victoria Bloom, NAM’s chief economist, said at the conference that wins within the areas NAM has targeted could result in a much rosier outlook for manufacturing. Tariffs in North America are a fluid situation but be prepared for them to impact your business. Much is up in the air right now, and likely will be, for the foreseeable future.
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