President Trump’s actions on trade, taxes and regulatory reform have injected unwavering optimism into the American manufacturing industry, according to several manufacturers who met with the president on Friday.
“This was the first time in many, many years that we had an uptick in optimism among manufacturers,” National Association of Manufacturers CEO Jay Timmons told reporters.
Since 1997, Timmons’ group has conducted an annual survey on manufacturers’ optimism and general outlook. This year’s survey found that 93.3 percent of manufacturers are somewhat or very positive about the current manufacturing climate in the United States.
“This was the highest number of optimism we’ve seen in the 20 years we’ve been conducting this survey,” Timmons said. “A lot of this had to do with the agenda this administration is putting forward and the action we’ve seen to date.”
The meeting between Timmons, Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and a dozen representatives from small and medium-sized manufacturers was held just before the president signed two more trade-related executive orders.
“Like so many manufacturers across the country, we are so excited that our president has a laser focus on the economy and manufacturing industry sector,” said Kelly Johnson, president of a family-owned aerospace supplier in Southern California.
