US President Barack Obama has announced that
his government will direct over half a billion dollars to efforts to strengthen
the country’s manufacturing sector.
The announcement was made in response to the
final recommendation of his Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Steering
Committee, established on June 2011 and co-chaired by Australian-born Andrew
Livers, the CEO and chair of Dow Chemical.
Over $US 300 million will be directed from the
departments of Defense, Energy, Agriculture and NASA to advanced materials,
advanced sensors and digital manufacturing.
Reuters reports that this would be matched by private sector investment and help advance manufacturing in novel materials,
such as new alloys “that are twice as strong and lighter than today”.
The Labor Department would also allocate $US 100
million to an advanced manufacturing apprenticeships grant program. The
Commerce Department would spend $US 150 million over five years “in 10 states to
help manufacturers adopt and market new technologies” reports Associated Press.
The
US manufacturing sector has enjoyed a resurgence lately, with high-profile
examples of onshoring from China and the White House statement noting that over
700,000 jobs have been added since February 2010.
However, as AP and others point out, manufacturing in the US lost almost 5 million jobs
in the years between 2000 and the start of 2009.
Image: REUTERS/KEVIN LAMARQUE