U.S. Army Faces Difficulty Sourcing Trigger Components to Domestic Tool and Die Shops
How many times have we warned and shouted from the rooftops that our tool and die industry is critical to our national security–in addition to the economy?
Now it appears some of those fears are a reality. This is exactly the type of issue we have tried to warn non-manufacturing citizens and government alike. We can not lose our ability to tool up when needed. However, deceiving OEMs are the biggest perpatrators (more on that in an upcoming article) that have leveled a large portion of our tooling base. It must be stopped. Now. And before it's too late.
Barbara Bartholomew, Chair of the U.S.-China Economic & Security Review Commission (USCC) warned that a side product of our growing trade deficit with China is that as more business goes abroad, the technology that we have developed for aircraft, computer chips and other products go with it. She related how the Army recently had a problem buying domestically made triggers for its rifles because the tool-and-die industry is so decimated.
Furthermore, the AFL-CIO President, Richard Trumka stated::
The report drives home the point that the Chinese government’s export-led manufacturing strategy is driven by a full range of subsidies, many of which are illegal under both the WTO [World Trade Organization] and our own trade agreements with China. These industrial policies begin with the most important illegal subsidy of all—the continuing substantial undervaluation of the Chinese currency.
