On the campaign trail yesterday, former Massachusetts governor and GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney visited Somers Furniture, a specialty manufacturer of furniture.
Romney used the appearance to call for reduced regulations, which he sees as limiting business growth. He also promised to lower taxes in order to stimulate business and create jobs.
It's good to see Romey visiting a small U.S. manufacturer. Lately, companies like Somers Furniture have been driving job growth in the U.S. manufacturing sector.
However, what we'd really like to see Romney do is continue his criticism of China's deliberately undervalued currency and closed procurement market.
The former governor should try something bold, like making a campaign stop in front of the new Oakland Bay Bridge. The center span of that bridge was built with steel imported from China. Problems with the Chinese steel componenets led to lengthy delays and billions of dollars in cost overruns. If the center section of the Bay Bridge had been built with American steel, it could have supported thousands of U.S. jobs and would have meant safe, quality, reliable steel sections.
These sort of problems with infrastructure work outsourced to China register strongly with voters across the political spectrum. And so, Romney's promise to designate China as a currency manipulator on day one of his presidency should be a win-win.
But it will be interesting how thoroughly and consistently Romney presses his "China message." In doing so, he'll be bucking the will of the GOP elite, including Speaker of the House John Boehner.
Hopefully Romney will pick up on the Buy America message soon…
Click here to read more about Romney's recent campaign rhetoric on manufacturing.