Palm Beach Gardens, FL — PGA National Resort
Did you miss the Annual Meeting last month? Our speaker program was packed with actionable information from experts. Here’s some of what you missed.
Geopolitics as a Core Business Input
Beginning the General Session on Tuesday, Eugene and Alex Chausovsky argued that geopolitics is no longer optional but a core input into business strategy, as a shifting multipolar world—led by the U.S. and China, with supporting roles from the EU, Russia, and key regional powers—reshapes supply chains, market access, and trade policy. This session underscored a clear shift in the global landscape: geopolitics is now central to business decision-making. Eugene and Alex highlighted the rise of a multipolar world led by the U.S. and China, with growing influence from the EU, Russia, and regional powers, fundamentally reshaping trade flows, supply chains, and market access. Increasing use of “economic statecraft”—including tariffs, trade barriers, and resource controls—is accelerating global competition and fragmentation. While the U.S. economy remains structurally strong, ongoing tensions with China and broader protectionist trends signal a more complex and risk-prone environment that companies must actively navigate.
Lighthizer on Trade Deficits and Domestic Industry
Next, Robert Lighthizer framed trade policy as central to preserving U.S. industrial strength, especially in foundational sectors like steel, and argued current policy must confront two core challenges: global overcapacity and foreign industrial policies that distort markets through tools like labor, currency, and state subsidies. He pointed to decades of worsening U.S. trade deficits and a sharply negative international investment position as evidence that the U.S. has effectively transferred ownership abroad, contributing to slower industrial growth and harm to workers. He positioned trade policy as a critical lever for sustaining U.S. industrial strength, particularly in foundational sectors like steel. Against a backdrop of global overcapacity and market distortions driven by foreign industrial policies, Ambassador Lighthizer emphasized the need for more assertive policy tools to rebalance trade and protect domestic industries. To respond, he outlined three policy options—import/export certificates, capital access fees, and broad-based tariffs—and signaled continued support for aggressive measures, including expanded Section 301 tariffs, to counterbalance these structural imbalances. He also noted that industries would be largely left to navigate this new economic landscape on their own.
Rod Suppliers: Uncertainty, Agility, and AI in Manufacturing
On Wednesday, the Rod Suppliers took the stage for a lively discussion. The wire rod market is in a period of sustained uncertainty driven by overlapping structural pressures. Trade policy—particularly the future of Section 232 tariffs—remains a critical but uncertain factor that could quickly shift the balance between domestic and imported supply. At the same time, global competition continues to cap pricing power, while input costs, especially scrap and energy, introduce ongoing margin instability. Domestic capacity expansion is uneven, raising the risk of supply-demand mismatches during demand swings. Taken together, these dynamics point to a market environment over the next 2–5 years that will require greater agility, tighter cost control, and more deliberate and flexible sourcing strategies to maintain competitiveness and manage risk.
The session also turned to practical innovation, with a focus on AI adoption in manufacturing. Rather than disruptive overhauls, the recommendation was a disciplined, incremental approach—deploying targeted, high-ROI applications such as automated quoting, supply chain monitoring, and predictive maintenance. The focus is no longer on experimentation, but on targeted, low-risk applications that deliver measurable returns—such as automating quoting, improving predictive maintenance, monitoring production processes, and identifying supply chain disruptions. These solutions can be implemented with relatively low complexity, allowing companies to capture efficiency gains without major system overhauls. However, success will depend on disciplined execution, including careful vendor selection and strong data governance to protect sensitive pricing and process information. The takeaway was straightforward: companies that adopt pragmatic technologies will be best positioned to compete in a more fragmented and dynamic global economy.
Mark your calendar for the next AWPA meeting in Washington, DC, September 23–25th. We’ll have another strong program, with the latest on the mid-term elections and the administration’s positions on trade policy. Registration will open later this spring.