Washington, D.C. – While the Biden administration and Congress have made historic investments in America’s infrastructure and manufacturing, new polling shows that American voters (70%) across the board want the federal government to do even more to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. and get tougher on China.
Nine-in-10 voters (87%) agree that the federal government should crack down on unfair trade, and four-in-five voters (82%) think that the federal government should offer manufacturers incentives to relocate their factories to the U.S., the Alliance for American Manufacturing poll conducted by Morning Consult finds.
Additionally, 78% of voters say the federal government should be required to buy American with its own purchases.
But despite a flurry of major manufacturing announcements and a boom in factory construction, only approximately one-third of voters have seen, read or heard about new factories coming to their community (30%) and the United States (36%).
Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul said:
“American voters have made it clear that the federal government must do more to bring valuable manufacturing jobs back to the United States. Voters support stringent measures on China, including tariffs, outbound investment bans, and reforming the de minimis law — measures that Congress and the administration can and should act on.
“Over the past two years, the U.S. has taken serious steps towards bolstering American competitiveness through investment in domestic manufacturing, but the impacts haven’t yet hit home with communities nationwide. Only one-third of voters say they have seen their regions benefit from recent investments. There is a real opening for Congress and the Biden administration to continuously emphasize the progress that has been made and follow through on additional manufacturing, trade and Buy America policies.
“Voters clearly understand the importance of strengthening American manufacturing. Policymakers would be wise to listen to them and continue to enact policy that supports factory workers and American industry.”
More key findings from the poll:
- A majority of voters (59%) support reforming de minimis customs law to include shipments valued below $800.
- Half of voters (51%) agree Congress should increase tariffs imposed on China in response to unfair trade practices, and 21% of voters say that tariffs imposed on China should be kept at their current level.
- Across party lines, voters overwhelmingly (76%) agree the federal government should be able to prohibit American companies from investing in manufacturing abroad when U.S. security is at risk than disagree.
Read more about the poll results here.
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