[{"_1":2,"_111":-5,"_112":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87,99],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},"mediaId",6211720,"mediaKeyId","3690018-2dd4537ac8b1bc87d56740b7d87c033f","parentId",3690018,"title","Witnesses say tariff uncertainty and volatile trade policy are deterring investment and hiring","audioSeconds",2420,"startMs",618000,"endMs",3038000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3690018-2dd4537ac8b1bc87d56740b7d87c033f&start=618&end=3038","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3690018-2dd4537ac8b1bc87d56740b7d87c033f/thumbnail_618000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6211720/Witnesses-say-tariff-uncertainty-and-volatile-trade-policy-are-deterring-investment-and-hiring","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6211720-1398aafa9dbb63095c33672c9497a2f2/orig.mp4?Expires=1775463499&Signature=XSfmC1KXQX-1uG6yC4V8b5dFA1yhpSggQx~x9GHUNWAYBxik6xz2Oc9ihQy2pRK6HzWq1qSLm7WGXtll0jNekCF5f8WKmRbB3S27W2iOE-qjFDGOGL7NOt784yzqdqVwCWXRig6y4zqunk4B7yHZQ~buS232q1uGJ3SQQkOwkdOwgYBPlJ6ffdX2pLa9z-Pb6xbjbRrAYdZDGRIrJoQuH7LBvJiN1DKU~KelLOjgeGlPk7TO-8wsdGtto15tckOv1ci6uhRnvkS9zz9yldQkahLQFZFemUGeJa0xAmm0AgGtis9mM6Cvp~u0jeAy-~vIoRtrn8T5hiG~eOAg~szy-A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Joint Economic Committee","date","2025-06-05T16:13:10Z","article","Several witnesses and committee members told the Joint Economic Committee that volatile tariff policy and trade uncertainty are significant disincentives to domestic manufacturing investment.

Why it matters: Witnesses said unpredictability in trade policy raises firms’ costs and risk, prompting businesses to hoard inventory, delay capital spending and pause hiring — outcomes that blunt the impact of federal incentives intended to spur domestic production.

Yossi Sheffi described tariff uncertainty as a major near‑term problem: “Reduce tariff uncertainty. It's the uncertainty that's killing us, killing companies,” he said, adding a plea to avoid frequent, retroactive changes: “Don't change it every other Friday, please.” He explained that unpredictable tariffs cause companies to build excess inventory, lose money and freeze hiring and investment decisions.

Committee members added testimony about the macroeconomic effects of tariff volatility. One member noted a sharp decline in U.S. imports in April (an $66 billion decline given in the hearing) and said average tariff levels are at historic highs compared with recent decades. Witnesses agreed targeted trade remedies can be appropriate to address unfair practices, but they cautioned that a tariff‑only strategy without workforce, infrastructure and regulatory support is unlikely to drive sustained reshoring.

Panelists recommended clearer, stable tariff policy, targeted use of tools such as the Defense Production Act where appropriate, and complementary investments in workforce and infrastructure to convert incentives into actual domestic production and jobs.

Ending: Witnesses urged Congress to reduce policy volatility and to pair trade measures with workforce, permitting and infrastructure reforms to make reshoring efforts effective.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","HEARING: Barriers to Supply Chain Modernization and Factor Productivity Enhancements","oneSentenceSummary","Experts told the Joint Economic Committee that unpredictability in tariff policy and trade rules causes firms to hold inventory, delay investment and freeze hiring, reducing the effectiveness of reshoring incentives.","taxTitle","Joint Economic Committee, Joint Committees, Congressional Hearings Compilation, Legislative, Federal","taxId",1966,"location","","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},6211725,"Witnesses warn NEPA and permitting delays could undercut CHIPS‑era semiconductor construction",226,1418000,1644000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3690018-2dd4537ac8b1bc87d56740b7d87c033f&start=1418&end=1644","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3690018-2dd4537ac8b1bc87d56740b7d87c033f/thumbnail_1418000.jpg","/articles/6211725/Witnesses-warn-NEPA-and-permitting-delays-could-undercut-CHIPSera-semiconductor-construction","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6211725-7f5085f6de163b3ed9b828eab4d211ad/orig.mp4?Expires=1775463499&Signature=kesg2SnmD3NztoH0SNc5I7TOoROPrrMESCbUYMZVuSaTWgRsHvZbPN22cFWKEzwM5VlBDjmWElLUVhu6leXHSbk3GJsWNlRnqz-vMIc6VWGNta4Fz7uZZjtrpcniOIJ-qkMvcWgjJy~22aZ~J8gIR9-SXs6Dijw8dktrbwR40VOO5ta3vJGx1-eH5GG-aqmjnpwLoYVA5wXB2ASH7lj5AuNXOtEl9vgtgnaox7G~ESss~NM3omwCCzi6b2wNdIAPaZPv51b8mF4u8tYM~1pBMxVRmxgxfrQMZtylMgaw6nrGVgHd5STjYiGF6Ijybr9zNDR31xXWES3zd-tZvrjRCQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Federal incentives under the CHIPS and Science Act have spurred semiconductor factory plans across the United States, witnesses told the Joint Economic Committee, but regulatory permitting can add years and billions in extra project costs, threatening timely completion.

Why it matters: The CHIPS Act directs large public incentives to semiconductor fabrication. Witnesses said those incentives will not yield durable industrial capacity if multi‑year environmental and permitting reviews delay construction and increase project costs.

Sujesh Shivakumar of CSIS said federal environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act “can add 4 to 5 years” to the build‑out of fabs now being planned. He said the CHIPS Act’s incentives are concentrated on fabrication: “Roughly 95% of the CHIPS Act’s incentive supports semiconductor fabrication,” and every additional year of delay increases project costs materially — he said a single year of delay can add roughly $1 billion to a fab’s cost.

Witnesses urged streamlining permitting while preserving environmental protections, calling for modernized processes that provide clarity and predictable timelines for projects whose technology cadence moves much faster than the 1970s‑era statutes they often confront.

Members and witnesses also discussed coordination across federal, state and local permitting processes, noting that companies already plan for multiple layers of review and that overlapping requirements can duplicate delay. Shivakumar said the scale and urgency of current investments create a pressing need to adapt regulatory procedures to enable predictable timelines without abandoning environmental safeguards.

Ending: Witnesses stopped short of proposing a single legislative fix but recommended targeted statutory and administrative measures to speed environmental review for projects tied to strategic manufacturing investments while keeping environmental standards in place.","Members of the Joint Economic Committee heard that while the CHIPS Act provides strong incentives for on‑shore semiconductor fabrication, permitting under older federal rules such as NEPA is adding years to construction timetables and raising project costs.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},6211730,"Experts: U.S. ports lag global peers; committee urged to adopt a national port strategy and embrace automation",354,957000,1311000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3690018-2dd4537ac8b1bc87d56740b7d87c033f&start=957&end=1311","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3690018-2dd4537ac8b1bc87d56740b7d87c033f/thumbnail_957000.jpg","/articles/6211730/Experts-US-ports-lag-global-peers-committee-urged-to-adopt-a-national-port-strategy-and-embrace-automation","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6211730-6f438aec483667435c6e9b3829134463/orig.mp4?Expires=1775463499&Signature=c0KQ2eISniuqTdQSbvczv6nISP7I-WXuspTSx3llUik8RUeU1u9E11kzqBSLPZdKhOtcQI9W8nVpUM3dhCf-sP89CUNb0mHJY4d4FFoGvS8xqIrLcpi~ue0erCm5jjSNuYWyuCtHNwctZomsVU7qvGmcVy5ZRHcSZ-QPgTNTNf7P05RYZMiEU2B95HOopUx~1nfRaaH-LB5O78bHecc~IxWezQLwx8QLQ4iZig6LXxwgGMjMTd9RNDa03co3~p9Z6qgPgLfkUT1g~B3b7tyIL-aNcZr5YKDwm9XrMwl8F0DQT-ldg93u7J7q8z4pPOp2nq78b9Sn-yk5NI5mvdhvRA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","A panel of witnesses told the Joint Economic Committee that the United States has ceded much of its maritime commercial advantage and that ports and related logistics infrastructure require a coordinated national strategy to support any major reshoring of manufacturing.

Why it matters: Ports are the arrival and departure points for most containerized trade. Witnesses said capacity constraints, growing ship sizes, trade imbalances and labor practices together make U.S. ports slower and less productive than many foreign competitors — a bottleneck for supply‑chain resilience.

Yossi Sheffi opened his remarks bluntly: “The United States is no longer a commercial maritime power,” he said, and then listed six barriers to U.S. port logistics: rising container volumes, scale and ship size, the composition of traffic (imports vs. exports), imbalances that send empty boxes back to sea, labor‑technology tensions and low time‑handling efficiency. He told the committee U.S. ports are “about 30% less efficient than the global average” in ship turnaround time and that many foreign ports are far faster.

Sheffi cited the expansion of the Panama Canal and the growing size of container ships as a structural challenge: most very large ships cannot call at many East Coast ports, so the public owners of port facilities must shoulder costly infrastructure upgrades that primarily benefit privately owned shipping lines.

Panelists and members discussed the role of logistics clusters. Sheffi and other witnesses pointed to Memphis as an example of an effective intermodal cluster — air, river, rail and road supporting distribution, third‑party repair and manufacturing services — and recommended policies to foster similar clusters near ports and inland intermodal centers.

Automation and labor: witnesses said increased productivity at constrained port sites will require automation. Sheffi called automation necessary to increase density where land is scarce but warned of difficult negotiations with unions. “The port of the United States have a very difficult time to automate,” he said, noting restrictions and political resistance that can slow technology adoption.

Several committee members and witnesses urged a national, coordinated port infrastructure strategy that aligns federal, state and local investments with private operators’ technical expertise. Witnesses noted that many global terminal operators and large private firms already possess the operational knowledge to run high‑efficiency terminals but need more predictable rules and investment frameworks to deploy technology at scale.

Ending: Witnesses asked Congress to consider policies that speed port upgrades, expand intermodal hubs, and create stable investment conditions so terminal operators and private firms can modernize operations rather than withdraw or delay projects.","Witnesses told the Joint Economic Committee that U.S. ports face capacity, scale and labor challenges, reducing efficiency relative to global peers; they urged a coordinated national strategy, intermodal clustering and careful negotiation with labor around automation.",{"_33":100,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":101,"_41":102,"_43":103,"_45":104,"_47":105,"_49":106,"_51":107,"_53":108,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":109,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":110,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},6211735,"Witnesses say U.S. reshoring depends on better vocational training, targeted immigration and predictable trade policy",481,487000,968000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3690018-2dd4537ac8b1bc87d56740b7d87c033f&start=487&end=968","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3690018-2dd4537ac8b1bc87d56740b7d87c033f/thumbnail_487000.jpg","/articles/6211735/Witnesses-say-US-reshoring-depends-on-better-vocational-training-targeted-immigration-and-predictable-trade-policy","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6211735-b6d2e0d07b17ae11beca6bfafdd7fc61/orig.mp4?Expires=1775463499&Signature=S5HeOkjawsRmsjDvBoVGVnq8BDTfOOco2~tdIAyx1Qrtb2xx4BgUzgDz2AFpbG6IIajusIWUjtUHBHJp28G117qQBAHWDvNucsTBVbeFJcFEvV8lacBjOJSM6ZBBNUPe7TKx51DRymDfVyTXKUpMKTNfWcnSSVkwKD8VZ0mYgOtJXL4yCEKHZktFGTIvFTeNNHnbAS7kFsY1RgjysVBAr8PjeDZSxkbxulh28DhxZJYxMQUtsZimVGkqY~GaJii77pamVvtCGPmmlu5MQWqJpkI0otKB58wg9lH25xyO1F6nQ-bqCHhK~73mZndGr-DZ82tzDzOCusMgiQhZY8axew__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Yossi Sheffi, a professor of engineering systems at MIT, told the Joint Economic Committee that U.S. manufacturers cannot rely only on moving final assembly home and must expand the domestic pool of skilled technicians, trade-school graduates and engineers.

Those workforce shortages undercut efforts to “reshore” advanced production even when federal incentives exist, witnesses said. Without clearer career pathways, faster credentialing and selective immigration policies to retain top graduates, firms will struggle to staff new, high-tech plants.

Why it matters: Committee witnesses said recent federal measures such as the CHIPS and Science Act and infrastructure spending create opportunities for new manufacturing investment but that firms will not build or fully operate fabs and other advanced facilities if the skilled labor is unavailable or if businesses face volatile trade rules.

Sheffi argued that automation and robotics can reduce reliance on manual labor but do not remove the need for technicians who can set up, run and maintain advanced equipment. “High level trade schools…are what is desperately needed,” he said, urging more emphasis on plumbers, electricians and machine operators who can run CNC and robotized equipment. He added: “AI may replace people like us. But…it's not gonna replace the plumber who comes to your home to fix the stuff. By the way, my plumber drives the Rolls Royce.”

CSIS senior fellow Sujesh Shivakumar told the committee federal, state and local governments must partner with community colleges, apprenticeships and industry to align training with firm needs. “We need to support…a high skill technical workforce,” he said, calling for better alignment between community colleges and employers and for more modern credentialing and apprenticeship systems.

Witnesses said policymakers should consider several near-term steps that would make a difference to employers: create clearer pathways from community college training into jobs at new plants, accelerate credentialing and apprenticeships tied to local industry needs, and consider targeted immigration reforms that make it easier for graduates with critical technical skills to remain in the United States.

They also cautioned against overreliance on tariffs as the only tool to bring jobs back. Shivakumar said a tariff-only strategy “that does not address the workforce development and infrastructure build out…will not be effective.”

The hearing included repeated calls from witnesses and committee members to expand funding and administrative support for vocational education and apprenticeships, and to pilot programs that match workers’ credentials directly to employer demand using modern data tools.

Looking ahead: Witnesses asked Congress to treat workforce development as a core element of industrial policy rather than an afterthought. They recommended pilot programs that pair CHIPS-funded sites and other manufacturing projects with state and local training providers to speed hiring and reduce the risk that new facilities sit idle for lack of qualified staff.

Ending note: Panelists emphasized the point repeatedly: capital incentives can bring factories, but people with the right skills make them operate.","Experts told the Joint Economic Committee that bringing advanced manufacturing back to the United States will require expanded technical education, clearer immigration rules for high-skilled workers and stable trade policy, not just incentives for factories.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Witnesses say tariff uncertainty and volatile trade policy are deterring investment and hiring

Witnesses warn NEPA and permitting delays could undercut CHIPS‑era semiconductor construction

Experts: U.S. ports lag global peers; committee urged to adopt a national port strategy and embrace automation

Witnesses say U.S. reshoring depends on better vocational training, targeted immigration and predictable trade policy