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| U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, spoke to members of the Chattanooga Regional Manufacturers Association Monday at an annual meeting. Staff photo. |
Local manufacturing leaders said the state of the industry is uncertain and restrictive federal regulations, along with political divisiveness, don’t help the situation.
e: inherit; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; text-align: center; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">“Locally, we are doing OK, but not everyone is doing OK,” Tim Spires, president and CEO of the Chattanooga Regional Manufacturers Association, said Monday. “Some are doing great, some are neutral and some are struggling to keep going.”
At the annual meeting Monday, members of the Chattanooga Regional Manufacturers Association honored guest speaker Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, with the National Association of ManufacturersAward.
Corker discussed his opposition to new federal regulations that are a hindrance to manufacturers.
“I don’t understand how we have an EPA that systematically — not through law — is closing down American energy,” he said.
The recession took a toll on local manufacturers, although many people have said that Chattanooga is in a better situation than many other cities.
Volkswagen and the other businesses the automaker brought in have helped keep Chattanooga strong, Dan Nuckolls, outgoing chairman of the Chattanooga Manufacturing Association, said.
He also said the city’s atmosphere makes manufacturers want to locate here.
But Spires and Nuckolls said federal regulations could damage the industry, which is already balancing on a proverbial tight rope.
The National Association of Manufacturers is conducting a “No New Regs” campaign and the Environmental Protection Agency seems to be its main focus.
Manufacturers are not against clean environmental standards, but Spires and Nuckolls said they are going too far.
“Nobody in the world wants to have dirty air or dirty water, but a lot of the regulations are just — it’s just paper,” Nuckolls said. “It doesn’t make anything cleaner, better, prettier. It’s just bureaucratic paperwork and it’s a hindrance.”
Regulations involving cross-state air pollution rules and maximum achievable control technology standards — which also deals with emissions of hazardous air pollutants — are two of the regulations the national association opposes, according to its website.
Some of these regulations could force jobs to other countries, Spires said.
“Our competition doesn’t face the same regulations we do,” he said. “We are already faced with a lot of things they are able to do through government subsidies in other countries that makes it even more difficult.”
http://www.nooga.com/19664_local-manufacturers-oppose-new-federal-regulations/