Industry reacting cautiously to Trump's actions so far

WASHINGTON (March 10, 2017) — The tire and rubber industry for the most part is taking a wait-and-see approach toward the Trump administration's first few weeks in office, with the president's executive order to require agencies to cut two regulations for every new one proposed eliciting the most favorable reaction.

In the first three weeks of his administration, President Trump issued 23 executive orders, eliciting varied reactions from officials in the tire and rubber industries and allied sectors — including general manufacturing, scientific and small business associations — from apprehension to enthusiasm.

Among the president's orders and new policies are:

• Freezing all federal regulations pending approval by the Trump administration;

• Ordering regulatory agencies to identify two regulations to repeal for every one they promulgate;

• Canceling the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade agreement the Obama administration negotiated with 11 other Pacific countries;

• Allowing the Department of Health and Human Services and other agencies to waive or delay the implementation of any Affordable Care Act provisions they deemed as imposing a financial burden on states or individuals;

• Expediting environmental reviews on high-priority infrastructure projects;

• Temporarily suspending the entry into the U.S. of all "immigrants and non-immigrants" from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Sudan, Yemen, Somalia and Syria;

• Instructing the Commerce Department to contact stakeholders to review the impact of federal regulations on domestic manufacturing; and

• Announcing a "get-tough" policy on immigration, including the prioritization of undocumented immigrants for expulsion from the U.S.; hiring 10,000 new immigration officers; and denying federal funding to cities that designate themselves as "sanctuary cities."

These orders are in addition to President Trump's previously announced plans to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act; to enact a trillion-dollar infrastructure improvement program; to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement; and to charge high taxes and tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and from other countries.

Some industry groups welcome the federal shakeup.

For example, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) said its survey of small business optimism reached its highest level in January 2017 among surveys taken since December 2004.

"We've had very low growth for years, mainly because small businesses have been tied down by regulations, taxes and spiraling health insurance costs," said NFIB President and CEO Juanita Duggan, announcing the survey results.

"Now they can see relief on the horizon, and they are much more optimistic about the future."

On the other hand, the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) said it plans to hold Mr. Trump accountable for his promises to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.

The AAM wrote Mr. Trump just before his inauguration, urging him to pursue policies that promote domestic manufacturing. Mr. Trump's "Buy American" and tax reform pledges were very encouraging to the AAM and its members, the association said.

The AAM has launched a feature on its website's home page to track manufacturing employment, the trade deficit and industrial capacity utilization, according to a Jan. 26 blog by AAM Digital Media Director Elizabeth Brotherton-Bunch.

"We'll keep a close eye on these over the next four years, and we'll regularly provide analysis and criticism when necessary," Ms. Brotherton-Bunch wrote.

Association reactions

Mr. Trump's two-for-one regulatory order provides an opportunity to review regulations that are outdated or duplicative, according to Daniel Zielinski, senior vice president, public affairs, for the Rubber Manufacturers Association.

"If a regulation has costs and burdens but no positive benefits, why keep it?" Mr. Zielinski asked.

For example, the decades-old Uniform Tire Quality Grading System could be seen as redundant in the face of the pending consumer information and labeling portions of the tire fuel-efficiency final rule, according to Mr. Zielinski.

But Mr. Trump's executive order placing a freeze on regulatory activity has left this in a suspended state, he said.

Roy Littlefield, executive vice president of the Tire Industry Association (TIA), also said his members had a lot of hope for the two-for-one regulatory order.

"There are approximately 83,000 federal regulations, 60,000 of which we don't even use anymore," Mr. Littlefield said.

In general, TIA is very hopeful about the Trump administration, he added.

"There are a lot of issues we're working on that will finally go through, and that's a plus," he said.

One of those issues is the potential repeal of the estate tax, a major goal of TIA for many years.

Company reactions

Many tire and rubber manufacturing companies declined comment. Others, such as Bridgestone Americas and Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., answered cautiously.

"Our No. 1 priority is to meet the needs of our customers and to get them the products that they need to grow their businesses," Bridgestone Americas said.

"As you would expect, we're monitoring the current situation with the new administration," the Nashville-based tire maker said. "It will take some time to assess and understand the plans they have and any changes that are to come."

Findlay, Ohio-based Cooper was even more guarded.

"Cooper believes our global manufacturing footprint positions us well to compete in the global tire business," it said.

"This includes our near-sourcing strategy, under which the majority of the products sold to customers in a region are produced in a region."