SI
SI
discoversearch

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor.  We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community.  If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.
Pastimes : Made In The USA? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: richardred who wrote (112)1/18/2018 1:31:26 AM
From: richardred  Respond to of 132
 
Trump’s Chance to Save American Steel
By SCOTT N. PAULJAN. 17, 2018



Photo



The flagship Bethlehem Steel plant in Pennsylvania. Squeezed by competition from imports, it stopped making steel in 1995. Credit Brian Snyder/Reuters In April 2016, Donald Trump stood in front of supporters in Pittsburgh and declared he would bring the country’s steel jobs back. On Thursday, he returns to western Pennsylvania as a president yet to deliver on that promise.

While America will never again see mills like those that dotted the river valleys of Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia 50 years ago, President Trump now has a chance to help stabilize a reeling steel industry and revive some of the employment it once offered.

The wheels are in motion. Three months into his presidency, Mr. Trump invoked a rarely used authority — Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which allows the president, after a review, to block imports that threaten national security — and promised decisive action in favor of the domestic steel industry by the end of June.

The summer instead passed without progress on the prerequisite review from the Commerce Department. Finally, with a deadline looming, late last week the Commerce Department announced it had completed its investigation and sent recommendations to the White House. The administration must announce a decision based on the report’s findings within 90 days.

With the report in hand, Mr. Trump has broad license to apply tariffs, quotas or both to steel imports. And he can do it safely: While there has been speculation about potential retaliation against the United States if it raises import restrictions, an exception in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade permits them for security purposes.


Richard Luettgen 11 minutes ago Saving American steel is more complex than some suggest; and it’s not just about steel – foreign interests increasingly tap America’s vast...

A.A.F. 1 hour ago Unfortunately, the steel industry as well as other countless manufacturing industries and businesses made a choice. They chose profit and...

Walter Rhett 1 hour ago This op-ed is a lobbist's pitch! Halfway through, I knew. Neatly tailored with fear, scapegoats and a government solution the marketplace...


Mr. Trump should make use of his authority in this case. Even in this digital age, steel undergirds our military power, not to mention critical infrastructure. Tanks, aircraft carriers and the energy grid all rely on high-strength, lightweight steel. That steel has been made in America for generations.

The security of our own steel industry, though, has been in doubt for a long time. Domestic steel production peaked in 1973. The industry is now operating at less than three-fourths of its capacity. Thousands of steelworkers have been laid off since 2015, and those still working know their jobs are under constant threat. Only one American company makes essential electrical steel, and only one other supplies the type of steel needed to make Virginia-class submarines, the generation of attack submarines that are expected to be in production until 2043.

The main culprit? In this case, Mr. Trump is right to blame China, which has added 550 million metric tons of steel capacity — more than six times total American production — since 2007, when Beijing first acknowledged it was making more steel than it could use. A significant amount of that steel has flooded global markets. Today, most of the world’s largest steel companies are state-owned Chinese firms. Whether or not you believe Beijing’s intent was to disrupt our own industry, that has certainly been the effect.

While Mr. Trump deserves credit for opening the national security review of steel imports, he has made plenty of mistakes regarding trade along the way. Initiating the 232 investigation and then sitting on it for months was feckless; American steel imports spiked by 15.5 percent in 2017 as foreign steel makers rushed in products ahead of tariffs that have yet to materialize.

An executive order that promised American steel would be used for energy pipeline projects was toothless, as most of the purchasing had already taken place. Meanwhile, Mr. Trump is burning through what remains of his political capital, necessary for a realistic shot at getting an infrastructure package through Congress. Handled correctly, either would have been a boon to domestic steel and manufacturing in general.

Most disappointing, Mr. Trump has met with China’s president, Xi Jinping, twice without extracting a meaningful policy concession on that country’s blatant mercantilism. Our annual trade deficit with China, which Mr. Trump cites as an indicator of our economic health, is poised to reach a record high when final figures are released next month.

A meaningful 232 action wouldn’t resolve these failings, but it would certainly be welcomed by the industry he promised to save.

Industry has been one of America’s greatest achievements. This is the nation that transformed itself into the arsenal of democracy, and with it won the last world war. Industry powered the country into a golden age of wealth and was a foundation of middle class prosperity.

Today America too often outsources the material to manufacture its prestigious projects, like the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, in a quest for savings. Half of the steel used in our energy pipelines is imported.

Some of the steel salvaged from the World Trade Center — 20 support “forks” that refused to fall in 2001 — are on display at the mill in Coatesville, Pa., where they were made. Its sister mill recently announced layoffs, and these workers fear they could be next. They make armor plate for Abrams tanks and aircraft carriers, at least for now.

Steel is our nation’s strength. Mr. Trump should remember that.

nytimes.com



To: richardred who wrote (112)1/18/2018 1:40:05 AM
From: richardred  Respond to of 132
 
Made in America


Follow the latest Made in America news, videos, and analysis from ABC News.

abcnews.go.com



To: richardred who wrote (112)1/18/2018 1:50:31 AM
From: richardred  Respond to of 132
 
Apple accelerates US investment and job creation


$350 Billion Contribution to US Economy Over Next Five Years

sheet metal fabricator saw-cuts material for Apple’s data center expansion in Reno, Nevada.


Cupertino, California — Apple today announced a new set of investments to build on its commitment to support the American economy and its workforce, concentrated in three areas where Apple has had the greatest impact on job creation: direct employment by Apple, spending and investment with Apple’s domestic suppliers and manufacturers, and fueling the fast-growing app economy which Apple created with iPhone and the App Store. Apple is already responsible for creating and supporting over 2 million jobs across the United States and expects to generate even more jobs as a result of the initiatives being announced today.
Combining new investments and Apple’s current pace of spending with domestic suppliers and manufacturers — an estimated $55 billion for 2018 — Apple’s direct contribution to the US economy will be more than $350 billion over the next five years, not including Apple’s ongoing tax payments, the tax revenues generated from employees’ wages and the sale of Apple products.




Planned capital expenditures in the US, investments in American manufacturing over five years and a record tax payment upon repatriation of overseas profits will account for approximately $75 billion of Apple’s direct contribution.
“Apple is a success story that could only have happened in America, and we are proud to build on our long history of support for the US economy,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We believe deeply in the power of American ingenuity, and we are focusing our investments in areas where we can have a direct impact on job creation and job preparedness. We have a deep sense of responsibility to give back to our country and the people who help make our success possible.”
Apple, already the largest US taxpayer, anticipates repatriation tax payments of approximately $38 billion as required by recent changes to the tax law. A payment of that size would likely be the largest of its kind ever made.

Apple will spend an estimated $55 billion with US suppliers and manufacturers in 2018.


Growing Apple’s US Operations



Apple expects to invest over $30 billion in capital expenditures in the US over the next five years and create over 20,000 new jobs through hiring at existing campuses and opening a new one. Apple already employs 84,000 people in all 50 states.
The company plans to establish an Apple campus in a new location, which will initially house technical support for customers. The location of this new facility will be announced later in the year.
Over $10 billion of Apple’s expanded capital expenditures will be investments in data centers across the US. Over the last decade, Apple has invested billions of dollars in data centers and co-located facilities in seven US states, including North Carolina, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona and a recently announced project in Iowa.
Today, Apple is breaking ground on a new facility in downtown Reno, which will support its existing Nevada facilities.
All of Apple’s US facilities, including offices, retail stores and data centers, are powered by 100 percent renewable energy sources like solar, wind and micro-hydro power, which Apple generates or purchases from local projects. The new campus announced today will also be powered entirely by green energy.



Investing in Apple’s Domestic Suppliers and Manufacturing Partners


Workers at a factory in Texas that manufactures vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs), empowering Face ID, Animoji and other iPhone X features.



Building on the initial success of the Advanced Manufacturing Fund announced last spring, Apple is increasing the size of the fund from $1 billion to $5 billion. The fund was established to support innovation among American manufacturers and help others establish a presence in the US. It is already backing projects with leading manufacturers in Kentucky and rural Texas.
Apple works with over 9,000 American suppliers — large and small businesses in all 50 states — and each of Apple’s core products relies on parts or materials made in the US or provided by US-based suppliers.


Preparing Students for the App Economy

Students learn to code with Swift, a simple and fast open source coding language for apps that run on iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS.



Apple, which has a 40-year history in education, also plans to accelerate its efforts across the US in support of coding education as well as programs focused on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM).
The iOS app economy has created more than 1.6 million jobs in the US and generated $5 billion in revenue for American app developers in 2017. With demand for coding skills stronger than ever, today there are more than 500,000 unfilled programming-related positions across the country, and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that by 2020 there will be 1.4 million more software development jobs than applicants qualified to fill them.1
To address the coding skills gap and help prepare more people for jobs in software development, Apple created a powerful yet easy-to-learn coding language called Swift, the free Swift Playgrounds app and a free curriculum, App Development with Swift, which are available to anyone and are already being used by millions of students at K-12 schools, summer camps and leading community colleges across the country. Over 100,000 students and teachers have also attended coding classes at Apple retail stores.
Apple will expand these initiatives and add new programs to support teachers and teacher training. The company is also increasing funding for its ConnectED program, so students in historically underserved communities have a chance to learn app coding skills and enjoy other benefits of technology in the classroom.



Media Images of Apple’s US investment


Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apple’s four software platforms — iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple’s more than 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.

apple.com