Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) Responds to Tonight's 'State of the Union.'

AAM President Scott Paul commented:

"We're pleased that manufacturing was once again front and center in the State of the Union, and we look forward to working with the Administration to craft public policies that will create more manufacturing jobs.

"Tonight, the President offered a number of solid manufacturing proposals in the State of the Union address.  These policies still fall woefully short of last year's campaign rhetoric.

"I saw no mention of his campaign pledge to create one million new manufacturing jobs. Yes, 500,000 manufacturing jobs have been added over the past three years, but virtually none since last April. That's simply not good enough.

"Expanding trade in Asia and Europe can be a good thing, but not if countries refuse to play by the rules. Completely absent from this year's speech? Trade enforcement. Tomorrow, the president will appear at an auto parts manufacturer in North Carolina. This is an industry besieged by Chinese imports. We could do a lot more good for American jobs by lowering our trade deficit with China first.

"We agree with the President that reforming the tax code makes a great deal of sense. We need to incentivize manufacturing in America, and recognize the outsized contribution that manufacturing makes to the rest of the economy.

"We look forward to working with the President on his ideas for a network of innovation institutes for manufacturing, and for training more workers for manufacturing careers. But we'll continue to remind the President of the need for bolder policies and stopping China's cheating on its trade obligations.

"America can be a magnet for manufacturing jobs, but we'll need to think bigger than this."

AAM's Focus on Manufacturing:

• During the 2012 campaign, President Obama set a goal of creating 1 million new manufacturing jobs in his second term.  To track the president's progress toward his goal, AAM has launched the #AAMeter.
• Read AAM President Scott Paul's recent letter to the President regarding a "Blueprint for Manufacturing."

Some specific statements from the president during the 'State of the Union':

PRESIDENT OBAMA: “After shedding jobs for more than 10 years, our manufacturers have added about 500,000 jobs over the past three.”

PRESIDENT OBAMA: “As long as countries like China keep going all-in on clean energy, so must we.”

PRESIDENT OBAMA: "The American people deserve...a tax code that lowers incentives to move jobs overseas, and lowers tax rates for businesses and manufacturers that create jobs right here in America." 

PRESIDENT OBAMA: "I’m announcing the launch of three more of these manufacturing hubs, where businesses will partner with the Departments of Defense and Energy to turn regions left behind by globalization into global centers of high-tech jobs."