Manufacturers' policy goals await election: NAM

Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), speaks at the 2011 Reuters Manufacturing and Transportation Summit in New York, December 13, 2011.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Manufacturers' long wishlist of changes to government policy will mostly have to wait until after next November's presidential election, the head of the largest U.S. manufacturing association said on Tuesday.

Issues ranging from environmental and labor regulation to corporate tax rates and a research tax credit are unlikely to make large strides during the election campaign season now under way, Jay Timmons, president of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), told the Reuters Manufacturing and Transportation Summit in New York.

"I'm not confident that there will be substantive work done on the policy front in Washington over the next 12 months," Timmons said on Tuesday.

"The next year is really setting the table," he said. "It is an election year. So there may be a few areas of progress that we can make on the regulatory side, but I think it is really going to be important for the presidential candidates and all the candidates running for federal office to be outlining their comprehensive plan for economic growth."

Timmons, who took over as NAM president earlier this year, said if the campaign season helps identify areas where lawmakers agree on policy, those plans could be implemented immediately after the November vote.

Manufacturers' No. 1 issue, he said, is overzealous regulation by government agencies -- including the Environmental Protection Agency -- that helps raise manufacturers' costs above those in other countries. NAM also argues that lowering corporate tax rates would make U.S. manufacturers more competitive globally.

As an example of regulatory overreach, Timmons cited the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). NAM has sued the NLRB over a rule requiring employers to display 11x17-inch posters informing workers of their right to strike.

NAM represents 11,000 U.S. manufacturers with some 12 million workers. Its agenda for accelerating economic growth and job creation includes attracting foreign investment, improving access to global markets, educational reform, removing regulatory obstacles to hiring, and fostering innovation by making permanent a Research and Development tax credit.

"We haven't seen from this administration, from the last administration, really from any administration, a comprehensive growth plan," Timmons said. "And I'm not talking about industrial policy, but a road map for economic growth. There really is no long-term vision."

Timmons said he hoped Congress would pass Trade Promotion Authority for the president sometime before the election. Trade Promotion Authority, also called fast track, would limit Congress to approving or rejecting trade deals negotiated by the president, and would prevent it from trying to amend them.

He also advocates exploring a possible free trade agreement between the three NAFTA countries -- Canada, the United States and Mexico -- and the European Union, to lower barriers for U.S. goods in Europe.

Other speakers at this week's summit, including Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N) President Stu Levenick, said they advocated a comprehensive plan to boost infrastructure investment, as well as a highway spending bill.

Siemens' (SIEGn.DE) U.S. industrial executive, Helmuth Ludwig, said on Monday he wanted the U.S. government to offer more long-term clarity on tax credits for the development of wind and solar energy, a key Siemens market.

Rockwell Collins (COL.N) CEO Clay Jones said he was most concerned about the inability of Congress to govern and the seeming unwillingness of both major political parties to reach any kind of budget deal. (For summit blog: blogs.reuters.com/summits/) Follow Reuters Summits on Twitter @Reuters_Summits

(Additional reporting by Scott Malone; editing by John Wallace)