WASHINGINTON, D.C.—U.S. Chamber of Commerce Senior Vice President and Chief Policy Officer Neil Bradley issued the following statement today regarding President Trump’s Executive Order related to procurement and H-1B visas:
“The U.S. Chamber’s first priority is to ensure American businesses and workers have access to the goods, services, and human capital needed to compete in a global economy.
“Economic growth requires a skilled workforce, so it should be a priority to make sure American workers have the skills required to fill open jobs with American companies. It would be a mistake to close the door on high-skilled workers from around the world who can contribute to American businesses’ growth and expansion and make the U.S. more competitive around the world. The H-1B program plays an important role in addressing this need, but it can be improved.
“Further, many ‘Made-in-USA’ goods and services are the best in the world. That’s why the Chamber has long argued that U.S. companies and workers need a ‘Buy American, Sell American’ strategy. We don’t just want Americans to buy them; we want to sell them to the 95 percent of the world’s consumers who live outside the United States, too. However, expanding current ‘Buy American’ rules in U.S. law would make it more difficult to spur growth and jobs here at home.
“If the goal is to grow the economy and create jobs, which the administration has indicated, it’s important to open more procurement markets for American companies and attract the best and brightest talent. We look forward to working with the administration to accomplish those shared goals.”
