Overview

The North American metals industry requires a reliable energy supply and infrastructure system to succeed and thrive. Infrastructure in the United States is crumbling. The dismal state of our roads, bridges, ports and waterways imposes huge costs on employers, especially in the industrial metals sector, and hinders U.S. competitiveness. The United States ranks 11th in the world, behind countries such as the Netherlands, France and Spain, in terms of the overall quality of our infrastructure. Government at all levels and the private sector must work together to rebuild these systems.

As proud stewards of our natural resources, MSCI supports policies that protect our environment and provide a stable energy supply. Today’s innovative technologies allow the United States to explore and produce energy from all sources – coal, nuclear, oil and gas and wind and solar – in an increasingly environmentally friendly way. We support an “all of the above” energy strategy that protects our energy security by expanding domestic energy production to efficiently and affordably deliver power to our nation’s industrial metals industry. We believe prosperity breeds the creation of new, cleaner and less wasteful technologies and strengthens the demand for them. Policies that fuel growth, rather than reactionary and impractical regulations and taxes, are the path to a cleaner, safer environment.

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Why it matters

Improved infrastructure and lower, more stable energy prices will make U.S. manufacturers more competitive with their foreign counterparts. In addition, the United States would be less dependent on foreign energy sources, leading to more employment opportunities, higher incomes and better benefits for U.S. workers. Investment in infrastructure, including energy and transportation infrastructure, also fuels job growth in the manufacturing sector. For example, a 2016 IHS Economics study found that construction of natural gas pipelines resulted in nearly 60,000 new manufacturing jobs in 2015 alone. According to a 2017 study by The Boston Consulting Group, a $1 trillion investment in infrastructure would generate approximately 1.6 million new jobs in the United States.

Our Principles

Policymakers must –

  • Make new investments to rebuild North American infrastructure and work with the private sector to drive new business investment.
  • Establish a national energy policy that produces a steady, reliable and affordable supply of energy, including renewable and non-renewable, from all domestic sources.
  • Require a cost-benefit analysis of all new regulations proposed by the Energy Department, Environmental Protection Agency, Army Corps of Engineers and Interior Department.
  • Improve transparency in the regulatory process and require involvement from representatives of the industries that will be impacted.
  • Reject international climate change agreements that put the United States at a competitive disadvantage.
  • Rationalize the permitting requirements and approval process for infrastructure investments, new energy production and transmission facilities.
  • Open more federal lands to oil and gas exploration and enhance offshore drilling.

Featured Content

Communications from MSCI:

Letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the Trans National Pipeline

MSCI, Energy Builders Letter Outlines Why The Atlantic Coast Pipeline Is So Important

 

Coalitions & Partners:

Energy Equipment And Infrastructure Alliance: http://www.eeia.org

Partnership For A Better Energy Future: http://www.betterenergyfuture.org

Energy, Environment, Infrastructure & Transportation Articles from Edge and Connecting the Dots

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