The National Association of Manufacturers and manufacturing advocates from across the country, including in Arizona, are calling for the incoming Trump administration to prioritize regulatory reforms that will spur manufacturing.
In a letter to the president-elect, the NAM-led coalition highlighted the consequences of strict regulations for small businesses.
“Manufacturers are shouldering enormous regulatory compliance costs—nearly $350 billion annually, or 12% of our entire sector’s contribution to U.S. GDP. For smaller manufacturers, these costs can exceed $50,000 per employee each year,” they wrote. “This means that a small manufacturer with just 20 employees pays $1 million per year to comply with federal regulations.”
NAM also called for specific changes including:
- Liquefied Natural Gas Export Ban: Lifting the pause on LNG exports by implementing an updated national interest assessment.
- Permitting Reform: Appointing an official within the administration to coordinate policies across the executive branch to reduce permitting burdens. Begin by prioritizing a reconsideration of the “NEPA Phase 2 Rule” and revisiting the current implementation of permitting reform provisions in the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
- National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter and Ozone: Reevaluating and relaxing the Biden administration’s NAAQS for PM2.5 rule, and maintaining both the primary and secondary standards for the NAAQS for ozone at 70 parts per billion.
- Power Plant Rules: Replacing the EPA’s regulations for existing coal-fired and new natural gas–fired power plants with more practical standards.
- Proxy Advisory Firms and the Proxy Process: Rescinding Staff Legal Bulletin 14L to eliminate politicization of the proxy process. Additionally, enforcing and preserving the 2020 proxy advisory firm rule and also expanding on its reforms with new policies based on the SEC’s 2019 proposal.
The regulatory pressure intensified during the Biden administration. Before the election, a survey conducted by the National Association of Manufacturers revealed a notable decline in optimism among manufacturers. Over 60% of respondents identified an unfavorable business climate, particularly regarding taxes and regulations, as a primary challenge.
The Arizona view
Grace Appelbe, executive director of the Arizona Manufacturers Council in the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry, said the Arizona manufacturing community is aligned with manufacturers across the country in wanting to cut red tape and spur job creation.
“We in Arizona have seen how ambiguity around things like air quality standards can undermine economic development,” she said. “Washington can’t on one hand say it wants to create new infrastructure and build chipmaking plants, but on the other hand make those endeavors nearly impossible because of onerous regulations. Arizona manufacturers are hoping the year ahead will see a legislative agenda built for today’s competitive global economy and that ensures U.S. manufacturing maintains its leadership position in the world.”