Scott Paul: "Eliminating our trade deficit would be an incredible shot in the arm for the US economy."
Manufacturing Policies Needed
EPI said currency manipulation would only solve part of the trade deficit and should be accompanied by a series of actions to promote manufacturing.
“The United States and its domestic manufacturers are competing in an environment where many other countries, including Germany, Japan, China, and Korea, operate comprehensive manufacturing and labor force development programs to support their traded goods industries; the United States does not,” the report charged.
Among the policy actions recommended by EPI:
- Expand investments in manufacturing R&D and technology diffusion programs
- Provide public financial support to small and medium-sized manufacturers
- Develop school-to-work job training systems for non-college-educated workers, including apprenticeship programs modeled on Danish and German models
- Develop new trade policies that support fair, balanced, and sustainable trade
- Plan and implement manufacturing and traded industry strategies, including establishing an institution akin to Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry
- Make massive investments in infrastructure, for example by meeting the United States’ $2.2 trillion worth of infrastructure needs over the next five years
- Greatly expand public and private investments in green and renewable energy technologies
The report said such steps could lead to the complete elimination of the U.S. goods trade deficit and allow the nation to recover most or all of the 5.7 million manufacturing jobs lost between March 1998 and October 2012.
