“Our manufacturing future, our economic future, our solutions to the climate crisis are all going to be made in America, creating good jobs.” - President Joe Biden

The U.S. manufacturing sector contributes $2.65 trillion to the U.S. economy, employs nearly 13 million American workers, and accounts for 10.3 percent of the nation’s GDP.  Manufacturing Month is a time to recognize U.S. manufacturers and their contributions to employment, innovation, and economic growth.

It’s also a time to celebrate the importance of experienced, equity-driven leadership in reshaping America’s manufacturing and supply chain future, as President Joe Biden has.

“There is no one who cares more about revitalizing American manufacturing than President Biden...He believes that America is a place where we should make things. And that is what his Investing in America agenda is all about.”  - U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “

For more information on the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to revitalizing U.S. manufacturing, see President Biden’s Proclamation on National Manufacturing Day, 2024 and the Biden-⁠Harris Administration’s Progress Creating a Future Made in America fact sheet.

The Commerce Department’s Commitment to Manufacturing

Through historic bills like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Inflation Reduction Act, and CHIPS and Science Act, the Commerce Department is investing billions of dollars in U.S. manufacturing in communities across America and making transformational investments in what and how we manufacture in the United States. 

During the Biden-Harris Administration, over 700,000 new manufacturing jobs have been created and over $910 billion in private manufacturing investments have been announced nationwide. As manufacturing has soared, so too has the opportunity for workers of all backgrounds to get good-paying, quality jobs.

One of those jobs belongs to Carlos from Baltimore. With a focus on  veterans, disconnected youth, formerly incarcerated individuals, and other underserved populations, the Maryland Works for Wind project received $23 million dollars under the Good Jobs Challenge grant program to train thousands of individuals to enter good-paying jobs in the cleaner, greener manufacturing industries we need workers in to scale.

Pat, a training manager in Mississippi who is working on a similar Commerce-funded manufacturing workforce program, stressed how much the funding has helped his workers. “We’re getting kids right out of high school and training them for good-paying, high-quality jobs. They’re so proud to be making something of themselves.”

Investing in America’s People, Places, and Potential 

Manufacturing is an investment priority for the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) — it plays a critical role in the United States’ economic competitiveness. In addition to helping transition communities to new economic futures through manufacturing, EDA is helping America’s regions evolve to meet the ever-changing manufacturing needs ahead.

Beyond the jobs that manufacturing provides, the sector is a major source of innovation for the United States. The ability to create goods and services—and the quality jobs they power—continues to be a driving force in growing the nation’s competitiveness on a global stage.

Since January 2021, EDA has invested $2 billion in 732 projects that support Manufacturing or Advanced Manufacturing, with more than 300 of those projects dedicated to helping communities and regions upskill and build the capacity for economic development. 

A key advantage to America’s global competitiveness is the strong connection among public, private and community partners that allow manufacturing communities to build synergies and innovate. EDA’s regional stakeholders are advancing efforts to rebuild, strengthen and increase resilience and inclusiveness of manufacturing-led economies across the country.

Through the Manufacturing Community of Practice, administered by the American Manufacturing Communities Collaborative (AMCC), EDA is focused on connecting manufacturing stakeholders in a collaborative effort to amplify and align best practices in manufacturing-focused economic development. As of 2024, the Manufacturing Community of Practice has facilitated over 130 knowledge sharing and strategy events.

These various EDA-supported projects are expected to create or retain more than 215,000 jobs and attract over $29 billion in private investment.  Many of these manufacturing advancements were catalyzed by the transformational American Rescue Plan Act, and two of its key Commerce-led programs.  The $1 billion Build Back Better Regional Challenge (BBBRC) and the Good Jobs Challenge (GJC). Both of those programs helped lay the foundation for one of Commerce’s most anticipated and celebrated programs: Tech Hubs.

On July 2, 2024, EDA announced $504 million in implementation funding to 12 of the 31 designated Regional Technology and Innovation  Hubs (Tech Hubs) to scale up the production and delivery of critical technologies in industries of the future, create quality jobs, and strengthen economic growth and national security in regions across the United States.

Tech Hubs projects train workers, support high-potential entrepreneurs and businesses, scale lab-to-market transitions, and build shared testbeds and manufacturing facilities—all designed to ensure the technologies, industries, and jobs of the future start, grow, and remain in the United States. Several of the Hubs are focused on regaining leadership in semiconductor manufacturing, including securing the critical materials for chipmaking, optimizing elements of the chipmaking process, or training the workforce for the thousands of jobs that will become available in chip fabrication facilities.

While most Americans think of manufacturing as creating large quantities of goods you can hold in your hand, one of the most critical manufacturing processes in the nation creates one of the most essential tools in our economy, which is often smaller than a fingernail.

CHIPS for America is a Win for All Americans

Semiconductors, or chips, are tiny electronic devices that are integral to America’s economic and national security. These devices power tools as simple as a light switch and as complex as a fighter jet or a smartphone. Semiconductors power our consumer electronics, automobiles, data centers, critical infrastructure, and virtually all military systems. They are also essential building blocks of the technologies that will shape our future, including artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and clean energy.

While the United States remains a global leader in semiconductor design and research and development, it has fallen behind in manufacturing and now accounts for only about 10 percent of global commercial production. Today, none of the most advanced logic and memory chips—the chips that power PCs, smartphones, and supercomputers—are manufactured at commercial scale in the United States. In addition, many elements of the semiconductor supply chain are geographically concentrated, leaving them vulnerable to disruption and endangering the global economy and U.S. national security.

That’s why President Biden signed the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 into law. The law provides the Department of Commerce with $50 billion for a suite of programs to strengthen and revitalize the U.S. position in semiconductor research, development, and manufacturing—while also investing in American workers.

As part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), CHIPS for America encompasses two offices responsible for implementing the law: The CHIPS Research and Development Office is investing $11 billion into developing a robust domestic R&D ecosystem, while the CHIPS Program Office is dedicating $39 billion to provide incentives for investment in facilities and equipment in the United States. To date, CHIPS for America has allocated over $36 billion in proposed funding across 19 states and proposed to invest billions more in research and innovation, which is expected to create over 125,000 jobs. Since the beginning of the Biden-Harris Administration, semiconductor and electronics companies have announced over $400 billion in private investments, catalyzed in large part by public investment.

NIST coordinates the Manufacturing USA national network comprised of 17 institutes, their sponsoring agencies from the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Energy and Defense, and six partner agencies. The network is devoted to restoring U.S. leadership in advanced manufacturing by accelerating the development of game-changing technologies through access to state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, applied R+D projects, and workforce training. NIST’s budget includes $37 million for the program, including direct support of the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL) at $14 million annually. 

The institutes generated more than $539 million last year in investment from industry, state, and federal sources. In 2025, NIST will award up to $70 million for an institute focused on the use of AI to increase the resilience of U.S. manufacturers. Thanks to the CHIPS and Science Act, NIST will soon award up to $285 million for an institute focused on the development, validation, and use of digital twins for semiconductor manufacturing, advanced packaging, assembly, and test processes (the latter through CHIPS for America).

Focused on helping small and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs) generate business results and thrive in today’s technology-driven economy, the MEP National Network includes NIST’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST MEP), the 51 MEP Centers located in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, the MEP Advisory Board, MEP Center boards, and the Foundation for Manufacturing Excellence, as well as more than 1,450 trusted advisors and experts at nearly 470 MEP service locations, providing any U.S. manufacturer with access to resources they need to succeed.

The MEP National Network benefited greatly from the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. The law authorized a pilot program of awards that would allow MEP Centers to provide services focused on resiliency of domestic supply chains, workforce development and adoption of advanced technology upgrades by SMMs. As a first step, the MEP used this new authority to launch the Supply Chain Optimization and Intelligence Network (SCOIN) initiative and award roughly $400,000 of annually appropriated funds to each of the 51 local MEP Centers to kickstart these supply chain efforts.

Some states, including Florida and North Carolina, have already benefited from efforts now supported by the SCOIN awards. For example, the Florida MEP, FloridaMakes, used the supplier scouting network to source and secure ventilators to address a critical need after Hurricane Ian. They were able to arrange for immediate procurement and delivery of $2 million worth of life-saving medical equipment, defibrillators, and medical supplies.

Broadband Connectivity Powering Manufacturing

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program is more than just an effort to connecting everyone in America to affordable, reliable high-speed Internet service—it's a catalyst for revitalizing U.S. manufacturing and job creation.

With $42.45 billion in federal funding from the Biden-Harris Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), the BEAD program is working to close the digital divide, ensuring affordable Internet access for all. But there's another powerful story unfolding behind the scenes: the transformation of the broadband supply chain.

The Build America Buy America preference contained in the BIL requires that nearly all equipment used in federally funded infrastructure projects be made in the U.S. When President Biden reaffirmed in his 2023 State of the Union address that “when we do these [BEAD] projects, we’re going to Buy American,” NTIA initiated a year-long journey to understand the broadband supply chain. The agency held hundreds of meetings with manufacturers and Internet providers to gather real-time data on equipment needs.

In February 2024, NTIA adopted a waiver that required the vast majority of the equipment for BEAD projects comply with BABA—an estimated 90% will be domestically produced. This has sparked over $750 million in manufacturing investments, with companies like Calix, Ciena, Corning, Nokia, and Prysmian stepping up to meet the demand. These investments have created more than 2,200 jobs. Broadband equipment like fiber optic cable, key electronics, and optical network terminals and units are now being made in the U.S on a larger scale.

This just isn’t about broadband; it’s about building a connected U.S. economy. By requiring American-made equipment, NTIA is helping connect everyone in America while fostering manufacturing job growth.