GRAND RAPIDS - There are no easy answers to the problems facing West Michigan manufacturers. That point was driven home when U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) presented a five-point program design to save manufacturing jobs and promote the creation of new industry during a St. Patrick’s Day visit to Grand Valley University’s Eberhard Center in downtown Grand Rapids.

Her appearance was co-sponsored by The Right Place Inc. and the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce. The audience was filled with local manufacturers. Not all of them agreed with Stabenow’s vision

The proposal presented by Stabenow would reward companies for creating jobs in the U.S. It would also lower health-care costs; create a level international playing field for businesses and workers, and invest in education and innovation. It also calls for the U. S. House to approve a transportation-funding bill that has been approved by the U.S. Senate. Stabenow said that would create 99,000 jobs in Michigan.

There were some who agreed with at least some aspects of Stabenow’s proposal. David Beemer, a partner in Grand Rapids-based Terryberry Co., told MiBiz, "You've got to level the playing field to prevent the intellectual-property loss. We can't allow China to take over our trade designs. We need to have more engineering students that come out of grad school stay here and help promote the innovation agenda within the U.S."

A big roadblock is the lower standard of living and lower labor costs in foreign countries.

Stabenow said, "The federal government is in a fundamental fight for smart policies that bring the standard of living up around the world, instead of bringing ours down. We need to fight for fairness in the international monetary system before the (World Trade Organization)."

She added that if the U.S. Treasury were to certify in international documents that currency manipulation is taking place, countries like China and Japan would be compelled to quit the practice. Otherwise, the U.S. would have the authority under international law to impose tariffs or other sanctions.

But Karl Betz with Walker-based Betz Industries Inc. said he's not sure tariffs are the answer. His foundry makes castings for the tool & die industry, as well as the machine-tool industry. Major customers include the Big Three automakers, as well as Toyota and Honda.

Betz told MiBiz, "We do need help, because our steel prices have just escalated because of China coming in, as well as Korea, and buying all our excess scrap (metal). And we're not able to justify and pass that along to our customers, because we're tied into some long-term contracts. So, that makes it extremely difficult."

GR Spring & Stamping Inc. CEO Jim Zawacki told Stabenow that the since-repealed tariffs the Bush Administration imposed on foreign steel drove offshore business out of the U.S. He noted that China now consumes one-third of the world's steel production. As a result, "Our prices since December have gone up 50 percent," Zawacki said.

Stabenow related that market analysts expect scrap metal prices to go back down within a month or two. Also, a number of small-business owners recently asked a U.S. House committee to put export tariffs on steel, in order to keep more of it in the U.S. But Stabenow said she is hesitant to support export tariffs until she can better understand the potential consequences of such tariffs.

Zawacki blamed union-driven labor costs for the exodus of companies such as Electrolux, Bosch and Lifesavers out of Michigan. He told Stabenow, "Nobody wants to say that, nor can they say that legally. But 35 New Domestic companies located in the South ran away from what we were selling in Michigan, our skilled labor. They didn't want any part of it."

Bipartisan legislation designed to reward companies for creating jobs in the U.S. was making its way through Congress as MiBiz went to press. The More Jobs Now bill co-sponsored by Stabenow would give manufacturers $6.5 billion in immediate tax relief to create jobs in the U.S. It would essentially lower tax rates for manufacturers doing business in this country. A related piece of legislation approved by the Senate in March would prohibit the federal government from awarding contracts to companies that outsource business to other countries.

Another prong in the Democrats' five-point plan is to lower health-care costs for businesses. Stabenow said enacting legislation to allow the re-importation of FDA-approved drugs could lower prescription drug prices by up to 70 percent.

She also supports fully funding the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) and the Advanced Technology Program (ATP), two programs that have created more than $300 million worth of economic activity in Michigan.

The programs are designed to forge partnerships between businesses and universities in order to improve manufacturing technology. Federal budget proposals call for dramatically reducing funding for the MEP and eliminating the ATP altogether. Stabenow said Michigan has used the ATP more than any other state, because it helps domestic automakers to improve their products.