As drug prices have surged, pharmaceutical companies’ large contributions to charities have given them a public-relations foil against backlash and helped keep patients from seeking lower-priced medicines. 

The state of manufacturing is better than it has been in years, according to NAM president and CEO Jay Timmons, but plenty of work remains, especially in regulatory and tax reform, and infrastructure investment.

The maker of bodies and chassis, car electronics and vision systems relies on the U.S. for about one quarter of sales, and counts on Mexico for another 12%.

“We spent time talking about a tax code that creates a level playing field for American companies,” Ken Frazier, chief executive officer of Merck & Co., said after the meeting.

The criminal plea is part of the ballooning bill that has followed the carmaker’s September 2015 admission that about 11 million diesel cars worldwide were outfitted with so-called defeat devices.

The meeting grew out of a December announcement of an a new trade advisory panel on manufacturing and a series of previous gatherings.

The decision made in the Obama administration’s final days upheld light-vehicle greenhouse gas emissions standards through 2025.

In a fresh blow to the electronics giant’s corporate image, a district court cited new evidence in approving the arrest warrant against vice chairman Lee Jae-Yong.

Boeing parachute systems haven’t been adequately evaluated and SpaceX engine turbines have cracked during testing, the Government Accountability Office said in a report.

Samsung vice chairman Lee Jae-Yong avoided being arrested during hearings last month, after the court ruled there was insufficient evidence, but prosecutors have made a second bid for his arrest, saying they have collected more evidence in recent...