Legislation Reform is Top Priority for U.S. Manufacturers

Following a recent National Association of Manufacturers (NAM)/Industry Week survey of manufacturers, NAM’s chief economist, Chad Moutray, reviews the top five policies that concern U.S. manufacturers. At the top of the list is “Reducing the regulatory burden on manufacturers,” with 83 percent of respondents concerned about inefficient U.S. regulatory policy.

This finding is no surprise to those of us in the mining sector. In fact, NAM’s finding is underscored by NMA’s recent survey of manufacturing executives. Our survey found that ninety percent of executives are concerned about supply chain disruptions outside of their control. With the existing mine permitting process taking seven to 10 years, five times longer than Canadian and Australian processes, it is no surprise that manufacturers are concerned with regulatory burdens that threaten a robust supply of minerals to power American manufacturing.

For a better, more sustainable and resilient U.S. economy, we must seek public policies that provide a streamlined permitting process. Both of these surveys are further evidence that Congress must act on this important issue.