National Assoc. of Manufacturers Decries China's Pollution

With the White House set to make a determination on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ozone proposal by October 1, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is launching its latest major ad buy. This ad highlights how air pollution from abroad is offsetting the substantial air quality gains made across the United States.

The ad buy, the latest in a multimillion-dollar television campaign by the NAM, will first air in Washington, D.C., Virginia and New Mexico on Wednesday, September 9, and will continue through October 1 in several other states. “It makes no sense to punish manufacturers in the United States for China’s failure to curb air pollution,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons. “We are part of the solution.”

Communities throughout the United States are pushing hard to reduce ozone levels—and it’s working. According to the EPA, ground-level ozone is down nearly 20 percent over the past decade and by 33 percent since 1980. Out west, states have reduced their ozone production by 21 percent in recent years. Despite these substantial improvements, a recent study by researchers affiliated with NASA concluded that air pollution from China is offsetting emission-reduction measures in the United States.

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs more than 14 million men and women, contributes $2.09 trillion to the U.S. economy annually, has the largest economic impact of any major sector and accounts for more than three-quarters of private-sector research and development.