LANSING – Federal action on tariffs, health care and pensions will help domestic manufacturers in their competition against foreign rivals, Gov. Jennifer Granholm and members of the Michigan Congressional delegation said Wednesday following an hour-long meeting in Washington D.C.
Among the tangible results of the meeting was a bipartisan letter that the delegation will send to U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman to argue against phasing out a 25 percent tariff on trucks built in Thailand.
Granholm said all participants at the meeting agreed to work on ensuring fair trade for U.S. companies including legislation to prevent counterfeiting and currency manipulation by China and Japan, developing legislation to reduce health care costs for manufacturers including insurance pools for catastrophic health care costs, and ensuring pension legislation that is to be developed in Congress does not harm Michigan’s major companies.
She said she would be taking the outlines of that agenda to other governors to help build more broad based support. The governor also said the delegation will push for federal funds for health care information technology.
“We are on the edge of an economic storm. If there are going to be American-made products in the global marketplace tomorrow, we have to support our American manufacturing community today,” Granholm said.
Republican members of the delegation said there is more the state should be doing as well to help its industries through tax relief and targeted assistance to companies like Delphi. Granholm had proposed a tax package largely devoted to lowering taxes for manufacturers that led to a negotiated net tax cut for businesses across the board, but that agreement faces a veto because of disputes over parts of the package, most notably whether to keep the single business tax beyond its 2009 repeal date.
“Other states are thriving in the strong national economic climate. The governor needs to work in Lansing to develop solutions that will improve Michigan’s economy and create jobs,” Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland said in an Associated Press account.
A spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Brighton) said the meeting was cordial but that most topics were already in the works, including approval by the U.S. House of legislation creating a trade enforcement prosecutor. Sylvia Warner also said the House has passed improvements to existing law providing federal funds which 33 states have used to create high risk health care insurance pools.
This story was provided by Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on Gongwer.Com
