'Manufacturing czar' title is a misnomer

Tooling & Production, Feb 2008 by Modic, Stan

Some three years ago, a new position was created in the U.S. Commerce Department. Officially, it was titled assistant secretary for manufacturing and services. Manufacturers were excited about the move. They saw it as the Bush administration finally recognizing the downward spiral U.S. manufacturers were in because of the globalization of trade.

Anticipating some relief that would help level the international trade playing field, the position was almost immediately tagged by the media as the "manufacturing czar." The dictionary defines a czar as an "emperor; one having great power or authority."

The term is obviously a misnomer.

As one executive who knows the Commerce Department tells me: "Commerce is an advocate but it is not a key lead agency to make changes such as State or Treasury. It has no inherent power to act on its own. We need a committed administration."

For example, many executives tell me they feel the administration is not putting enough pressure on China to revalue its currency that is, in reality, a subsidy for Chinese exports. One University of Maryland economics professor contends the yuan is 40 to 70 percent undervalued against the dollar.

The Manufacturing & Services (MAS) office is part of Commerce's International Trade Administration. Its first czar, California carpet and rug maker Al Frink, quit. The new czar on the job since August is William "Woody" Sutton, a 59-year-old retired Navy admiral. Before becoming a czar - a term he doesn't like, perhaps because it's misleading - he spent five years as president of the Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Institute.

He's familiar with the Washington, D.C., scene, having served as a naval aide to President Reagan and director of programs in the Navy Office of Legislative Affairs. His education (Naval Academy and MIT) as a naval engineer and six CEO/COO-equivalent navy assignments in legislative affairs, management, and international relations seem to have prepared him well for the politics of Washington.

Gather, analyze, prod

Unfortunately, the identification as a czar in Button's Commerce Department position is a misnomer. His staff of 231 of "America's finest" is primarily information gatherers, analyzers, and proponents. Sutton's crew is organized into five groups: one focuses on manufacturing, another on services, and a third group concentrates on analyzing the gathered information to "make sure we are comparing apples to apples," Sutton explains. "A fourth group includes our standards liaison office and a fifth area manages the 16 advisory groups. I'm told these advisory groups give their industries a critical voice in Washington. The MAS helps insure that the private sector views are presented when formulating policies and programs. Whether those views are considered is another matter.

"We have a series of industry-expert volunteers. That's how we continue to check the pulse of industry and gather information from the various industries," Sutton says. Part of his job, he says, is to use that gathered industry expertise to support the branches of government, such as the trade representative's office, as it negotiates the various issues on the world stage, the Import Administration on antidumping situations, and the Market Access Compliance branch of Commerce as it works toward that elusive level-playing field to enhance U.S. competitiveness.

"As we give market access to other countries, we should have that same access and transparency and freedom of trade with them. It is very important for us to be involved in all those areas," Sutton says.

MAS makes a difference

To that end, Sutton chairs the Interagency Working Group on Manufacturing Competitiveness, which includes representatives from 17 federal agencies such as State, Treasury, Defense, Justice, Labor, Transportation, and Energy. Project teams are organized to focus on specific issues such as regulatory impact, workforce development, and technology transfer.

Another important part of his job is to "attack the premium that U.S. manufacturers pay to do business in the U.S. Health care and energy costs, environmental concerns, legal and government regulatory costs are all part of those premiums," he adds.

"I have to make sure that each industry's issues are being properly represented among the agencies and on Capital Hill. We stay connected to the legislators and various congressional committees. We also have to leverage our relationships with the various industry associations," he says, adding, "We have to make sure we are providing support across the board for all industries and all sizes of companies."

MAS claims to have made an impact in many areas. In December it was the driving force behind a U.S.-China tourism agreement facilitating group leisure travel from China to the United States and permitting destinations here to market themselves in China. China visitations are expected to exceed a half-million Chinese travelers by 2010. Commerce Department reports mat average per visitor spending by Chinese exceeds $6,000.