Proposes 10 policy actions to address major barriers to U.S.
manufacturing growth, help recapture an estimated $300 billion in
production of consumer goods, and create an estimated 1.5 million U.S.
jobs
WASHINGTON -- (Business Wire)
Walmart today convened a broad group of individuals and organizations
representing government, business, and non-governmental organizations
from across the country to present a Policy
Roadmap to Renew U.S. Manufacturing. The meeting included a
bipartisan conversation about the current challenges and opportunities
in the U.S. manufacturing sector as well as case studies of successful
collaboration among key stakeholders.
“As we’ve worked over the last four years alongside our suppliers toward
our goal to source an additional $250 billion in products that support
American jobs, we’ve learned a great deal about the challenges our
suppliers face in domestic manufacturing,” said Cindi Marsiglio, Walmart
vice president for U.S. Sourcing and Manufacturing. “The good news is
we’ve also learned how to overcome the challenges and, because of our
experience, Walmart is uniquely positioned to help facilitate broad
engagement in accelerating the expansion of U.S. manufacturing.”
According to analysis conducted by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG),
decreasing policy barriers to domestic manufacturing creates an
opportunity to recapture approximately $300 billion in consumer goods
that are currently imported, including furniture, cookware, and sporting
goods, potentially resulting in the creation of an estimated 1.5 million
American jobs. The analysis, which laid the foundation for the policy
roadmap, leveraged BCG’s expertise in economic policy and manufacturing
along with Walmart’s sourcing data and included interviews with
merchants, suppliers, and other policy experts.
Walmart’s Policy Roadmap to Renew U.S. Manufacturing offers a
comprehensive approach to tackling the major barriers that keep
companies from manufacturing more consumer goods in the United States.
The roadmap identifies the highest impact policy barriers as (1)
workforce, (2) coordination and financing, (3) regulation, and (4) tax
and trade and proposes specific policies that have the potential to
effectively accelerate and grow U.S. manufacturing.
“Enhancing US manufacturing is a top priority of mine,” said U.S.
Representative Tom Reed, who serves as co-chair of the House
Manufacturing Caucus. “Manufacturing is an advancing field where new
technologies will open doors to job creation and economic growth. We
must work together to remove barriers so that we are more competitive
and good paying jobs are once again created right here in the United
States.”
The roadmap details 10 concrete policy actions that can be taken to
address these barriers and goes a step further to suggest the
appropriate entities, including federal, state, and local governments,
manufacturers, and businesses, that must collaborate on those policy
actions to affect meaningful change that will unlock greater growth and
job creation in domestic manufacturing of consumer goods.
“It’s important to note that there is no silver bullet that will solve
the problem on its own. The barriers to domestic manufacturing are just
too broad and too complex,” said Dustin Burke, a partner in BCG’s
manufacturing practice. “The purpose of Walmart’s Policy Roadmap to
Renew U.S. Manufacturing is to provide a framework for collaboration
among key stakeholders and highlight 10 actionable policy levers that,
taken together, can help strengthen U.S. manufacturing and significantly
reduce long-term unemployment.”
Last month, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon signaled the company’s intention
to pursue policy proposals that help create a favorable climate for job
creation in his remarks to more than 500 small- and medium-sized
companies that attended Walmart’s fourth annual Open
Call for U.S. products on June 28. “We are also committed to
participating as a leader in the country when it comes to policy,” he
said. “We believe that we should be one of the voices at the table and
we want to help renew U.S. manufacturing and drive the creation of
manufacturing jobs across the United States.”
According to data from its suppliers, approximately two-thirds of
Walmart U.S. merchandise spending is for items that are made, assembled,
sourced, or grown in the U.S. In 2013, Walmart committed to sourcing an
additional $250 billion over ten years on products that support American
jobs.
For more information on Walmart’s commitment to U.S. manufacturing,
visit www.walmart.com/americanjobs.
About Walmart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people
around the world save money and live better - anytime and anywhere - in
retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, over
260 million customers and members visit our 11,695 stores under 59
banners in 28 countries and e-commerce websites in 11 countries. With
fiscal year 2017 revenue of $485.9 billion, Walmart employs
approximately 2.3 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be
a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment
opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by
visiting http://corporate.walmart.com
on Facebook at http://facebook.com/walmart
and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmart.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170726005728/en/
Contacts:
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Scott Markley, 1-800-331-0085
news.walmart.com/reporter
Source: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
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