Gear up or fail

This coming week in Washington is all about American competitiveness and manufacturing. The focus is on China, as opposed to Japan as it was 20 years ago.

In December 2011, the Council on Competitiveness at its
National Manufacturing Competitiveness Summit announced a National Manufacturing Strategy. The Strategy - Make: An American Manufacturing Movement  - which engaged hundreds of private and public sector leaders in two years of work and numerous dialogues across the country - maps how the United States can lead the world in 21st century, advanced manufacturing that will be at the heart of the nation's long-term productivity and prosperity.


On March 9th, President Obama announced a new proposal for a National Network for Manufacturing Innovation, to build a network of up to fifteen Institutes for Manufacturing Innovation around the country, serving as regional hubs of manufacturing excellence that will help to make manufacturers more competitive and encourage investment in the United States. The President’s Budget proposes a $1 billion investment to create this new National Network for Manufacturing Innovation.

The opening for this week, was on the 21st with the release by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) of WORSE THAN THE GREAT DEPRESSION: WHAT EXPERTS ARE MISSING ABOUT MANUFACTURING'S DECLINE.

REPORT LAUNCH: EMERGING GLOBAL TRENDS IN ADVANCED MANUFACTURING. 3/26, 4:00-5:30pm, Washington, DC. Sponsor: Woodrow Wilson Center, Program on America and the Global Economy. Speakers: Sallie Keller, Director, IDA Science & Technology Policy Institute; Stephanie Shipp, Bhavya Lal, Nayanee Gupta, Justin Scott, Chris Weber, and Michael Finnin, author, Emerging Global Trends in Advanced Manufacturing, IDA Science & Technology Policy Institute; Carl Dahlman, Henry R. Luce Associate Professor School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University; Jim Turner, Senior Counsel, Innovation and Technology and Director, Energy Programs, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities; Moderator: Kent Hughes, Director, Program on America and the Global Economy.

2ND ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON THE RENAISSANCE OF AMERICAN MANUFACTURING. 3/27, 9:00-5:00pm, Washington, DC. Sponsor: Committee to Support U.S. Trade Laws and others. Speakers include: Gene B. Sperling, Director of the National Economic Council and Assistant to the President for Economic Policy; U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH); U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR); U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL); U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI); Gordon Brinser, President, SolarWorld Industries America Inc.; Leo W. Gerard, International President, United Steelworkers (USW); Rob Atkinson, President, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation; Rich Harshman, Chairman and CEO, Allegheny Technologies Incorporated; Brian Toohey, President, Semiconductor Industry Association; Scott Paul, Executive Director, Alliance for American Manufacturing; Thea Lee, Deputy Chief of Staff, AFL-CIO; Leo Hindery, Jr., Chairman, U.S. Economy/Smart Globalization Initiative at the New America Foundation; Clyde Prestowitz, President, Economic Strategy Institute; Roger Berkley, Former Chairman, National Textile Association; Harry Moser, Founder and President, Reshoring; Initiative and Retired President, GF AgieCharmilles; Former Governor Bob Ehrlich (Maryland).

CAN AMERICA RESTORE ITS COMPETITIVE EDGE? 3/28, 9:30-11:00am, Washington, DC. Sponsor: National Conversation at Woodrow Wilson Center. Speakers: The Honorable Jane Harman—President, Director and CEO, WWC; Norm Augustine, former CEO, Lockheed-Martin, Chair of the National Academies Gathering Storm Committee, author of Rising Above the Gathering Storm; John Engler, former Governor of Michigan, former President of the National Association of Manufacturers, President of the Business Roundtable; Paul Vallas, former Superintendent of the Recovery School District in Louisiana, former CEO of Chicago Public Schools and the School District of Philadelphia; Moderator: David Wessel, Chief Economic Correspondent, Wall Street Journal.

AMERICAN MANUFACTURING AND JOB REPATRIATION
3/28 – 9:00am, 2362-A Rayburn House Office Building. House Appropriations Committee - Hearing Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing on "American Manufacturing and Job Repatriation." Witnesses: Dr. Niall Ferguson, Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History at Harvard University; Harry Moser, Founder, Reshoring Initiative; Scott Paul, Executive Director, Alliance for American Manufacturing; Jim Phillips, Chairman and CEO, NanoMech; Dr. Patrick Gallagher, Director, National Institute of Standard and Technology; Dr. Subra Suresh, Director, National Science Foundation.