Gibbs addresses foreign trade during Minnich Mfg. tour

ASHLAND – Congressman Bob Gibbs spoke about foreign trade Tuesday during a visit to Minnich Manufacturing. The stop was part of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) “I Make America” campaign.

AEM aims to bring awareness to the manufacturing industry for its member companies through programs like the “I Make America” Tour, which brings national level politicians into manufacturing facilities.

“Our goal is to raise awareness about the policy issues that affect the equipment manufacturing industries, get the employees educated and give the congressman or official a chance to see the equipment manufacturing firsthand,” said AEM public affairs manager Abby Lannoye.

The campaign began nearly 10 years ago, and the tours began five years ago. AEM brings provides the tours for several dozen of its more than 1,000 members per year.

For Rob Minnich, who currently works in sales for Minnich Manufacturing, the tour was an opportunity for his employees to celebrate the company’s 50^th anniversary. The third-generation family business was founded in downtown Mansfield in 1968 to make concrete vibrators.

It later moved to 1444 U.S. 42 in Ashland, where it now manufactures dowel pin drills, too.

“It’s important for our employees to see the importance of what they do,” Minnich said.

On Tuesday morning, Gibbs took a tour of Minnich Manufacturing and addressed topics like foreign trade. A portion of the business’s 46 employees attended.

“We have some apprehension, heartburn, a lot of concern, especially in the manufacturing sector and the agriculture sector,” the U.S. Representative for Ohio’s 7th congressional district said.

He explained how President Donald Trump is working to negotiate trade agreements, specifically now with China. He recalled a conversation, where Trump said, “we’re getting hosed” by China.

Gibbs doesn’t want a trade war – he says it’s something nobody wants – but believes “high-stakes negotiations” are needed.

“If it happens, we get it done where the trade agreements are fair and reciprocal, this is going to awesome,” Gibbs said. “Our economy is going to take off even more than it’s taken off since we did the tax cuts. This will be really something.”

“If it goes south, it won’t be pretty.”

Gibbs called it “gutsy,” but he’s been impressed with Trump’s ability to negotiate on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and with Kim Jong-un on North Korea.

Gibbs also discussed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. He specifically mentioned a lower corporate tax rates, which he hopes will allow the U.S. to better compete with other countries.

“That puts us in a better mix to be competitive with the rest of the world,” Gibbs said.

He expects to see increased economic growth and more job opportunities as a result. Gibbs encouraged Minnich employees to spread the word about manufacturing opportunities.

“There’s lots of opportunity in the trades, and we don’t have enough people,” he said.

More recently, Gibbs has been working on “common sense regulatory reform.”

“We’ve had regulations in the past that a duplicate, laying on top of each other, just adding a lot of red tape,” Gibbs said.

Gibbs wants to see overburdensome regulations removed. When there are too many regulations, Gibbs believes some businesses will “only do what they have to to get by.”

“I think everyone wants to have a good environment, good clean air and clean water, but we make it so hard to make the requirements at so much cause that we can go backwards,” he said.