The White House budget seeks to give a lift to the nation’s manufacturing sector by boosting spending on research and development.
The plan, as part of the Commerce Department budget, calls for $1 billion for 15 “manufacturing institutes” across the country. The facilities would “develop cutting-edge manufacturing technologies and capabilities,” the White House said, while offering few details. The plan falls in line with the administration’s broader effort, stemming from the early days of the administration, to double the nation’s exports by 2015. A separate fund would set aside $131 million to build industrial parks and “academic centers” to promote economic growth.
The proposal comes at a time when some foreign companies are setting up facilities in the U.S. to take advantage of more-competitive energy prices and labor costs, relative to other countries–a development called “re-shoring.” It also comes as the administration embarks on an ambitious second-term trade agenda, including negotiations on trade deals in the Pacific and in Europe, to boost exports.
Along those lines, Commerce’s International Trade Administration would get a boost in funding to support the National Export Initiative. That includes money to crack down on unfair trade practices by other countries.
Write to Josh Mitchell at joshua.mitchell@dowjones.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 10, 2013 11:55 ET (15:55 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2013 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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