NACD Statement on Obama's Call to Boost Manufacturing in the U.S.

ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 13, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Last night, President Obama touched on several business issues in his State of the Union address.  NACD applauds his statement that manufacturing needs to be strong for our economy to grow.

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Said NACD President Chris Jahn, "NACD members sell to every manufacturing segment in the United States.   Because of our current tax, tort, energy, and regulatory policies, it is 20 percent more expensive to manufacture in the U.S. than overseas, excluding the cost of labor.  For the economy to truly grow, that needs to change."  

One way to help the manufacturing sector and its partners, like chemical distributors, is to provide more certainty in the tax codes and reduce overreaching and duplicative regulations.  Growth cannot flourish under the weight of higher taxes and the crippling regulatory environment the chemical distribution industry faces currently.  Already the tax provisions, passed earlier this year, in the fiscal cliff package will impact small businesses' bottom line, slowing growth and job creation.

"President Obama presented several very ambitious programs.  NACD's biggest concern is the real cost of implementing all of these programs while trying to reduce the deficit at the same time.  Our members are very concerned that the government will need to keep raising taxes to achieve these ambitious goals," stated Chris Jahn, president, NACD.  "As the president seeks more tax revenue from small businesses, I urge him to recognize that they are a fundamental building block of job creation and that more taxes mean fewer jobs."  The majority of NACD members are pass through entities and taxed at the personal level in the U.S. tax code. 

"NACD will continue to proactively work with Congress and the Regulatory Agencies to discuss these important issues and demonstrate our members' continued commitment to the safe and secure handling of chemicals," stated Chris Jahn.

NACD and its over 400 member companies are vital to the chemical supply chain providing products to over 750,000 end users. They make a delivery every six seconds while maintaining a safety record that is more than twice as good as all manufacturing combined. NACD members are leaders in health, safety, security, and environmental performance through implementation of Responsible Distribution, established in 1991 as a condition of membership and a third-party verified management practice. For additional information on our members, their safety record or NACD, visit NACD at www.nacd.com.

Contact: Lucinda Schofer
703/527-6223 (NACD)

SOURCE National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD)