Manufacturers Need Level Playing Field in Clean Energy Legislation Says Senator
Industry Week – At a meeting with President Obama and Cabinet members to discuss climate change legislation, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) urged that "done right, clean energy legislation can be a jobs bill."
He pointed out however that the bill needs to promote the "competiveness of U.S. manufacturing through targeted retooling assistance and border equalization measures. A great risk of a weak bill is that U.S. industries incur increased costs, and as a result, cheaper products would be imported from abroad. That’s unacceptable and won’t create jobs or reduce emissions.
"When 70% of the clean energy components are manufactured outside the U.S., something needs to change. I've talked with manufacturers and workers across Ohio, and I am worried about our long-term manufacturing competiveness. We can't trade our dependence on foreign oil for Chinese-made wind turbines. The right investments in domestic manufacturing and energy policy will help rebuild our nation's manufacturing base and create jobs."
