InsideSources

Trump Commerce secretary nominee and billionaire investor Wilbur Ross laid to rest any possibility of rolling back the Obama administration’s handoff of internet domain name oversight to the international community Wednesday.

Ross said there’s “no realistic way” to walk back the transition of U.S. oversight of the internet’s domain name authority to a global stakeholder model since the Commerce Department declined to renew its contract with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) last fall.

“As such a big market and really as the inventors of the internet, I’m a little surprised that we seem to be essentially voiceless in the governance of that activity,” Ross said during his Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday. “That strikes me as an intellectually incorrect solution.”

ICANN is the U.S.-based non-profit that oversees key internet infrastructure functions like assigning internet protocol (IP) addresses, overseeing domain names like .com and .org, and acting as the roadmap guiding devices to websites, all part of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) within Commerce oversaw ICANN until their agreement, in place since the Clinton administration, expired last year as part of the White House’s plan to cede control to the international community. Oversight now falls to a group of private global technology companies, which can hear proposals from a collection of governments including the U.S., Russia, and China.

Republicans including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz tried to block the transition, concerned countries with records of censorship and human rights abuses like Russia and China would have an equal seat at the table with the U.S.

“Do you share those concerns and will you commit to working with this committee to ensure that we protect free speech on the internet and that we do not allow enemies of free speech to exercise authority that restricts our freedoms here in America?” Cruz asked.

Ross agreed, but added there was little the U.S. could do now that the deal is done.

“I’m not aware of what it is we can actually do right now to deal with that,” Ross said. “If some realistic alternative comes up, I’ll be very interested to explore it.”

The billionaire investor addressed a number of technology concerns raised by members of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee including pledging to help rural states expand broadband as part of the president-elect’s infrastructure revamp, find ways to free up spectrum held by government, and improve cybersecurity across federal agencies.

Collectively government agencies control roughly 60 percent of all spectrum, airwaves needed to meet Americans’ growing demand for high-bandwidth wireless applications like video streaming.

Ross said it would be “tricky” to incentivize agencies to give up spectrum they’re not using without action from Congress, but added he would “do his best” in any areas where Commerce can intervene.

On the cyber front, the nominee said future federal information technology procurement would include cloud-based systems for efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and security.

“I’m a very big proponent of cloud,” Ross said. “We’ve used it a lot in the private sector, and as far as we can tell it is not only more efficient, it’s probably also more secure for lots of very complicated technical reasons. I think it’s a very important thing for government to do.”

He added it was equally important for agencies to get on the same systems for better communication, and reduce the amount of information siloing that occurs from the broad range and age of technology used across the federal government.

“I think much more could be done,” he added.

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President-elect Donald Trump is entering office at a time when economic confidence has remained near a record high, according to a poll Tuesday.

Trump will be officially sworn in as president during the inauguration ceremony Friday. Economic confidence reached 11 points following the Nov. 8 election, the highest score since Gallup began daily tracking in the midst of the 2008 recession. Gallup found economic confidence has remained relatively steady in the months since the election and now sits at 10 points.

“After nine years of nearly uninterrupted negative economic assessments, Americans’ views of the economy brightened significantly after the November presidential election,” Gallup said. “This positive swing mostly stems from surging confidence among Republicans and independents who lean Republican.”

Trump campaigned on a jobs-focused message which helped him to win support among the working class. Republicans are driving the high confidence levels at positive 16 points from a negative 43 points before the election. Democrats lost some confidence in the economy but not enough to offset the gains by Republicans.

“Confidence in the economy has fallen among Democrats,” Gallup said. “Nonetheless, even if Democrats’ confidence in the economy has slumped since the election, it is still considerably higher than the negative levels that prevailed among Republicans for much of President Barack Obama’s tenure.”

Democrats were considerably confident in the economy at a positive 27 points prior to the election. Now their confidence has fallen to a positive eight points. Democratic President Barack Obama is still in office which may explain why confidence among the left hasn’t fallen further.

“Once Donald Trump officially takes over the presidency on Friday, it would not be surprising to see Democrats’ economic confidence sapped further,” Gallup said. “If there is not a commensurate rise in confidence among Republicans, the overall index score will likely fall as well.”

The index rates economic confidence on a scale of 200 possible points, from -100 to +100, based on two main factors. It looks at how Americans rate current economic conditions and whether they feel the economy is improving or getting worse.

There is still significant room for improvement with economic confidence at only 10 points. The low level of confidence over the years is likely the result of the last recession almost a decade ago. The economic downturn was followed by an irregularly prolonged recovery.

The economy has shown positive trends in recent years but there have still been major issues. The labor market, for instance, has been steadily growing and is close to full employment. The labor force participation rate, however, has failed to reach the level it was at before the recession.

The recession was sparked by the subprime mortgage crisis and the financial crisis of 2007. The poll found economic confidence started at negative 24 points when it was first conducted in 2008. It dropped to a record low of negative 65 points in the following year.

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The Fight for $15 movement was accused of using paid union activists Thursday as part of a nationwide protest against President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for labor secretary.

CKE Restaurants President Andy Puzder was nominated Dec. 8 to become the next secretary of labor. He currently operates several franchises including Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s. The Fight for $15 movement launched the protest claiming workers at those chains oppose his nomination. The International Franchise Association (IFA) says the protest mostly consisted of paid union activists.

“These union front organizations are simply more of the same PR stunts, and as we have seen so many times in the past, most of these protesters are paid union activists, not workers,” IFA Public Affairs Director Matt Haller said in a statement. “Furthermore, these protests distract from the real issues at hand for our nation’s leaders.”

The Fight for $15 movement didn’t respond when asked by InsideSources if they used paid union protesters. IFA also accused the movement of being part of a hidden union agenda to undermine Puzder. The Fight for $15 is primarily supported by labor unions like the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

“By picking Andrew Puzder for labor secretary, Trump made it pretty clear – the next four years are going to be about low pay, wage theft, sexual harassment, and racial discrimination,” Fight for $15 states on its website. “He opposes the minimum wage. He thinks workers are overprotected. He is against unions. He even said he wants to fire workers and replace them with machines.”

The Fight for $15 added that the Senate should reject his nomination. Puzder was denounced within days of being picked for running television commercials featuring models eating hamburgers in sexually suggestive ways. He does oppose the $15 minimum wage but told the Los Angeles Times that he supports a more moderate increase.

“It’s shameful to see Big Labor use their hard-working members’ dues to orchestrate protests,” America Rising Squared Communications Director Jeremy Adler told InsideSources. “After eight tough years under President Obama, our country’s workers need a labor secretary who fights for more jobs and economic growth and that is a mission Andy Puzder is uniquely qualified to lead.”

America Rising Squared is a nonprofit research group that promotes conservative policies. The Fight for $15 movement and labor unions have been adamantly opposed to the upcoming administration. Labor unions, for the most part, backed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton during the election. Many union members supported Donald Trump.

Democratic Sen. Patty Murray and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka argued during a press call Dec. 22 that the president-elect has already betrayed his promise to the working class by picking Puzder. Trump’s supporters, however, see the nomination as a way to bring balance back to what has become a highly-politicized Department of Labor.

The Fight for $15 has been at the forefront of the minimum wage debate since it started in November 2012. The SEIU and Trump transition team did not respond to requests for comment by InsideSources.

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On the campaign trail, President-elect Donald Trump took positions both for and against a program allowing highly-skilled foreign workers a visa for employment inside the United States. Trump’s nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions for attorney general has also raised concerns about scrutiny placed on the visas, but serious doubts remain over whether Trump or Congress will be interested in rolling back the program. Supporters of the program argue reducing or eliminating these H-1B visas would cause economic damage in the U.S. and boost foreign tech hubs, running counter to many of Trump’s campaign promises.

The H-1B visa program provides employers with high-skilled foreign workers when they cannot find qualified domestic workers. Critics have contested it’s being abused by employers looking for cheap labor. The program, however, has become a needed resource for companies who can’t find required skills domestically.

“Limiting the number or eliminating the program entirely would honestly be a shock to the U.S. system that could cause a contraction and ship a lot of this production entirely overseas,” Information Technology and Innovation Foundation analyst Adams Nager told InsideSources. “Statistics show a guest worker, especially a technology guest worker, moving to a location creates jobs in their own industry.”

Nager adds that it’s not even an issue of companies choosing foreign workers over qualified Americans. The issue is there simply aren’t enough qualified domestic workers to meet their demands. The computer and technology sector has become increasingly in need of skills that are in short supply domestically.

“Pretty much anyone who’s using IT products rely a lot on foreign workers just because it’s so hard to find qualified Americans to do this type of work,” Nager said. “Really what happens if we don’t let these guest workers in is we forfeit an opportunity to grow in these industries.”

Those opposed to the program believe restricting it could result in companies hiring domestic workers. They make the assumption that the skills and talents these companies need are available domestically. Technology and other industries, however, may be forced to relocate to where they can find the skilled labor they need.

“I think the worse deal for the American worker is that instead of companies bringing talent here to the U.S., that these companies start taking jobs overseas,” National Immigration Forum Executive Director Ali Noorani told InsideSources. “It’s not so much moving a floor of cubicles to another country, it’s frankly expanding the footprints that these companies already have in these other countries.”

Silicon Valley in California has become the unofficial capital of the current technological renaissance. Apple, Facebook, Google, and many others have offices there. These companies have led the way in innovation and rely on guest workers to meet those demands.

“Every country in the world is trying to build the next Silicon Valley,” Nager said. “Eliminating the supply of labor coming in is going to drive the cost of labor up even further for California-based technology companies which will certainly have the effect of making companies at least look elsewhere.”

Google alone filed 2,163 applications for skilled foreign workers they’re hoping to hire this year. Cities like Hyderabad, India, are looking to get a competitive edge over the United States by providing skilled labor. The United States is ahead for now, but the global economy is becoming increasing competitive.

“In terms of Indian cities becoming competitive right away with Silicon Valley, I think that might be premature,” Nager said. “But they certainly now have reason to be optimistic about being able to grow and compete in these sectors.”

Technology companies and consulting firms tend to use the largest share of high-skilled guest workers. Technology companies could be severely damaged or move their operations overseas if visas are reduced. Nevertheless, technology isn’t the only industry that has increasingly relied on guest workers.

“The assumption is Silicon Valley is going to be affected the most by H-1B rollbacks and restrictions,” Noorani said. “While the technology sector will be impacted, really restricting the H-1B program will have an impact across the economy from manufacturing to technology to even financial services.”

Noorani argues the program actually helps domestic workers despite what critics say. He notes that guest workers often contribute to industries in ways that help them grow overall. He adds the high-skilled guest workers drive up employment and economic growth.

“As our economy continues to regain its footing we need to make sure companies have access to the talents that they need,” Noorani said. “If you shrink the H-1B program, companies themselves will start to shrink, and that’s a bad deal for the American worker.”

The H-1B program has a congressionally mandated cap which currently stands at 65,000 visas. The program is allowed to grant an additional 20,000 only for foreigners with advanced degrees. Nager notes even the available visas aren’t enough to meet demand, so any reduction to the program will likely be harmful.

“The program already suffers from not enough visas,” Nager said. “Each year they get about 230,000 applications for those 85,000 visas, and in the first week that the application window is open it results in a lottery and each application only has about a 30 percent chance of being selected.”

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services rely on the lottery system because they get so many applications. The application process opens in April. Available visas are almost instantly taken. Noorani says the process shows how in demand these visas are.

“There are about 65,000 visas available, and they are snatched up in a matter of weeks every year,” Noorani said. “The vast majority of companies that use these visas are abiding by every rule and regulation.”

The application process also creates a lot of uncertainty for companies. They don’t know whether they’ll get the skills and talents they need or even whether they’ll meet requirements in one area but not the other. Nager says reducing the program is only going to make things worse for companies.

“That type of uncertainty is already very damaging, and narrowing the tunnel even further, you’re going to increase the costs that are associated with applying for these visas,” Nager said. “What I think will happen is you’ll end up being more reliant on these so-called offshoring companies.”

Offshore consulting firms have attracted negative attention because they take a large share of high-skilled visas. Nager argues the criticism stems from a misunderstanding of what these firms do. The firms do take a large share of visas but generally act as a middleman to match foreign workers with domestic companies.

“Where those firms are adding value in the current system is they help American companies navigate this really complicated application process,” Nager said. “They don’t have to roll the dice and enter this very risky application process. So condensing this program is likely to intensify that process.”

Trump and Sessions have stated that some employers have abused the visa system. There have been well-reported cases of employers using the program to replace domestic workers with cheap foreign labor. Noorani agrees something needs to be done to prevent abuse but argues reducing the program is not the solution.

“We’re not saying the H-1B program as it exists is perfect,” Noorani said. “It needs to be tightened and improved. But to say that we’re going to shrink it only means that we’re shrinking the economic competitiveness of American companies. At the end of the day, that’s no good for American workers.”

Lawmakers have a number of solutions available to them to address fraud and abuse. They can better monitor the application process and make the system more transparent. Nager warns most companies use the program properly and lawmakers should make sure they don’t hurt them in their attempts to reduce abuse.

“There are any number of ways to address this problem without resorting to cutting the program,” Nager said. “At the same time these policies have to be put in places carefully because you can easily regulate the program out of existence.”

Nager adds its also a misconception that skilled guest workers get paid less. He notes there are cases when they do but on the whole, their wages tend to be equal or more than their American counterparts. Their skills and talents are in high demand, so naturally, their wages tend to be higher.

“The data is pretty clear that these workers are definitely not undercutting American workers in a significant way and in fact, are paid slightly more than their American counterparts,” Nager said. “Of course, that doesn’t tell you about individual cases, but on the aggregate H-1B wages are very competitive.”

Trump has not detailed exactly what he wants to do to the visa program. Over the course of the campaign, he took a variety of positions, both in support of expanding the program and rolling it back. While hostile to technology companies at times, Trump has worked to strengthen his relationship with Silicon Valley since his election.

Sessions has previously worked to limit abuse in the program, with some arguing his proposals would gut it outright. Regardless, the upcoming administration has caused many to be worried.

“I think it really depends on what their actions are,” Noorani said. “It’s hard to tell what the specifics are of what they want to do. But I do know based on our conversations with companies across the manufacturing and technology sector, that they’re increasingly worried.”

Trump does face legal limits when it comes to changing the visa program. He cannot overhaul the program unilaterally. The H-1B program is written into a law which means a congressional vote is needed to fundamentally change the program. Congress’ aggressive agenda and focus on other immigration issues may make it unlikely for congressional action.

“The H-1B has been written into law, it has been passed, its part of a statute,” Ann Cun, managing attorney for Accel Visa Attorneys, told InsideSources. “In order to revise the law, you would need a congressional vote on that. However, when it comes to regulations and how the immigration services review these types of petitions, there is a little more leeway there.”

Sessions has faced two days of hearings starting Tuesday to determine whether his nomination will be approved. Republicans lawmakers have noted concern the position of attorney general has become overly politicized. Sessions responded during the hearings that he plans only to uphold the law if nominated.

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More than half of “technology elites” are optimistic about the industry’s future in the next administration, according to a new poll released this week. It comes against the backdrop of CES 2017 and weeks ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Burson-Marsteller on Thursday released its Age of Trump Technology Policy Survey, which found 59 percent of those at the top of the industry “believe the incoming Trump administration will be favorable to the technology industry.” Seventy-six percent say the “industry’s best days are still to come.”

That’s compared to 59 percent of 1,000 members of the general public who believe the industry’s best days are ahead. Fifty percent believe Trump will look favorably on the industry.

Burson-Marsteller polled 500 individuals in mid-December who either work or invest in the tech sector for its industry sample.

“This new survey reveals intriguing insights into the beliefs of those closest to the technology industry compared to the general public, and are especially relevant now right before the inauguration and during CES, the most important technology gathering of the year,” Burson-Marsteller CEO Don Baer said. “Interestingly, the findings suggest those in the technology industry are very optimistic about the industry’s direction and prospects for the next four years, even though they are less sure of the impact of the incoming Trump administration on it.”

Those in the industry generally have a more positive outlook on the country’s future, with 52 percent believing the country is headed in the right direction, a sentiment only 27 percent of the general public shares. Fifty-nine percent of industry players expect the economy to improve during Trump’s presidency, compared to 46 percent of the general public.

Both groups agree the industry will grow in the next four years, but only 50 percent of the general public believe Trump is a technology industry supporter, with the percentage among tech only 9 percent higher. Tech representatives split evenly on whether the Obama or Trump administrations understand the issues facing the industry better, while 58 percent of the public said Trump.

Despite the industry’s positive outlook under Trump, the study found tech elite opinions about the economy veer sharply from the president-elect’s. Eighty percent say tech is the most important industry to the U.S.’s economic future and 74 percent say “if innovation does not occur in America it will continue overseas.”

Trump’s views tend to align more with the general public, 37 percent of whom say technology is a job destroyer, and 35 percent that innovation negatively affects average American jobs. Seventy-four percent “agree that traditional manufacturing and service jobs are more important for the economy than expanding innovation,” compared to 68 percent of tech elites who agree.

The general public’s responses echo promises made by Trump on the campaign trail to overhaul trade policy and bring jobs back to the U.S., especially in manufacturing throughout the Rust Belt.

Trump also took time to blast some of the biggest companies in Silicon Valley. He hit Apple for failing to cooperate with an FBI warrant, accused Amazon of tax dodging and potential antitrust violations, appointed an FCC transition team opposed to net neutrality, and rejected the push by firms, including Facebook and Google, for more highly skilled H-1B work visas. The industry responded in kind by donating overwhelmingly to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

The president-elect pushed reset on the relationship in December by inviting tech leaders to Trump Tower, where he pledged to help them succeed in areas like trade and market growth. He has also offered some favorable comments about the H-1B program.

He’s also bolstered relationships with gig economy-friendly regulatory appointments and economic and policy advisers including Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, Oracle co-CEO Safra Catz and Tesla/SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Venture capitalist and Facebook board member Peter Thiel has also joined the transition team after supporting Trump and speaking on his behalf throughout campaign season.

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The Fight for $15 movement attacked president-elect Donald Trump’s current pick for labor secretary Thursday by quoting an employee of one of his franchisees.

CKE Restaurants President Andy Puzder was nominated Dec. 8 to become the next labor secretary. The company owns several franchise restaurant chains including Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s. Some have questioned his treatment of workers at those franchise chains. The Fight for $15 Los Angeles chapter bashed the nominee by quoting a Carl’s Jr. cook in a tweet.

“Andy Puzder is against unions, calls the minimum wage and overtime ‘restrictions’ and employees ‘extra cost,’ and even said he wants to fire workers like us and replace us with machines that can’t take vacations or sue their employers when they break the law,” Carl’s Jr. cook Rogelio Hernandez said. “It doesn’t matter who the labor secretary is, the Fight for $15 won’t back down for one minute in our demands for $15 an hour and union rights for all workers”

Hernandez has been an outspoken participant in the movement. He has done numerous interviews and has participated in protests. He has been particularly critical of Puzder since he was nominated to lead the Department of Labor (DOL).

The Fight for $15 has been at the forefront of the minimum wage debate since it started in November 2012. The movement is primarily supported by labor unions like the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). New York and California are the other states to pass the increase but the movement has seen a lot of success on the city level.

Democratic lawmakers and union leaders have been particularly critical of the nominee. Democratic Sen. Patty Murray and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka argued during a press call Dec. 22 that the president-elect has already betrayed his promise to the working class by picking Puzder.

Puzder would have a significant amount of influence over workers if his nomination is approved by the Senate. The DOL is the primary federal agency for enforcing and issuing workplace policies. President Barack Obama, for instance, initiated much of his economic agenda through department regulations.

Puzder supporters see his nomination as a way to bring balance back to the labor department. Current Labor Secretary Thomas Perez has been accused by critics of pushing an overly political agenda. Some believe his reforms have benefited unions at the expense of employers and workers.

The Fight for $15 and Trump transition team did not respond to requests for comment by InsideSources.

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President-elect Donald Trump and unions don’t agree on much but his plan to invest in a robust national infrastructure program is one area they are finding common ground.

Trump said during the campaign that he plans to invest $1 trillion into repairing the national infrastructure. His plan has attracted support from both sides of the aisle. Construction and labor unions have said for years that meaningful investments into national infrastructure are long overdue.

“The President-elect during the campaign identified infrastructure as one of his early priorities and called for new investments of $1 trillion or more,” United Steelworkers Legislative Director Holly Hart told InsideSources. “For Americans who face crumbling, often unsafe, infrastructure in their lives as they go to work, drive home, and engage in daily activities, they are desperate for his campaign promises to turn into reality.”

There have been numerous reports of crumbling roads and even bridges collapsing. Flint, Michigan, made headlines when its drinking water became contaminated with lead from aging pipes. An infrastructure investment plan could help fix and upgrade roads, bridges, waterways, and electrical grids across the country.

“The Ironworkers union applauds Donald Trump’s infrastructure program,” Ironworkers Union General President Eric Dean told InsideSources. “We have to have a sustainable maintenance program that recognizes that the existing bridges need to have ongoing maintenance and quite frankly politicians in both parties have done us a disservice.”

Trump also sees his infrastructure plan as a potential jobs stimulus program. Construction and other workers will be needed to work on the projects across the country. He hopes to create thousands of new jobs in construction, steel manufacturing, and other sectors.

“America needs to invest to repair, rebuild and renew our infrastructure,” Hart said. “The president-elect has the opportunity to turn campaign promise into reality and we’re hoping that he won’t be just another politician who fails to see through on his commitments. Millions of jobs are at stake as is the health, safety, and future of our country.”

Labor unions overwhelmingly endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton during the election. Organized labor tends to side with the left on political issues. Nevertheless, the increasing need for robust and meaningful infrastructure investments has defied partisan lines.

“Obviously we supported Hillary Clinton in the election, but there are many things that Donald Trump says that my members and union can agree,” Dean said. “Infrastructure is the main one, so we’re ready, locked, and loaded to assist the president in his endeavor.”

Trump and lawmakers face many potential obstacles on planning and implementation. One major issue is spending, as it may become difficult not to add to the federal deficit. Republicans often oppose initiatives that increase deficit spending.

“I’m skeptical that Congress is going to be so willing to buy into the broad plan, and I think it’s going to get de-scoped a little bit on the sides,” Dean said. “Our legislative department is on point and ready to move. Prior to the election, we were meeting with the speaker to find common ground regardless of the presidential outcome.”

Trump and lawmakers will debate a range of possible policies to reduce how much the plan would add to the deficit. Former-President Bill Clinton raised the federal fuel tax during his time in office. The funds originally went towards deficit reduction, but infrastructure needs like transportation were included later.

“Cars get better gas mileage today, fuel standards are better, you don’t get one dime more of fuel tax off an electric car,” Dean said. “So they have a regressive funding source, and I think the elected officials have failed to propose anything that has been real as far as what we need to do.”

Trump has also promised to reduce the regulatory burden on businesses. Economic and environmental regulations have often been blamed for stifling job growth. The Trump campaign estimated that over-regulation costs the economy $2 trillion dollars a year.

“It often takes seven to nine years through the environmental impact studies and all those things,” Dean said. “If President Trump wants to streamline those regulations and fast-track jobs and take them from concept to blueprints to delivering steel or concrete, we’re going to support those initiatives.”

Trump will be officially sworn in as president Jan. 20. Some Democrats have already expressed interest in working with the president-elect when it comes to the national infrastructure.

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The United Auto Workers (UAW) reaffirmed its opposition to outsourcing Tuesday in response to president-elect Donald Trump’s efforts to save autoworker jobs.

Trump threatened to impose higher taxes Tuesday on General Motors (GM) for making some Chevrolet Cruzes in Mexico. Ford Motor Company, a rival automaker, announced just hours later it had canceled its own outsourcing plans. UAW President Dennis Williams noted the announcement was welcome news.

“The UAW has long believed that companies that sell in our country should build their products in our country,” Williams said in a statement. “We are proud of the quality of work in Lordstown with the Cruze sedan and we welcome Ford’s Flat Rock announcement today.”

Ford plans to invest $700 million at its Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Michigan.

General Motors responded to Trump’s threat by noting most Cruzes sold domestically are built in the country. The automaker didn’t say whether it otherwise plans to change business operations.

“General Motors manufactures the Chevrolet Cruze sedan in Lordstown, Ohio,” GM said in a statement. “All Chevrolet Cruze sedans sold in the U.S. are built in GM’s assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio. GM builds the Chevrolet Cruze hatchback for global markets in Mexico, with a small number sold in the U.S.”

Trump has promised to implement pro-business policies when he becomes president. Ford President Mark Fields said the decision to not outsource jobs was based primarily on the hope the president-elect will uphold his pledge to the business community.

“This makes sense for our business, and we look at all factors, including what we view as a more positive U.S. business manufacturing environment under President-elect Trump,” Fields told CNN. “It’s literally a vote of confidence around some of the pro-growth policies that he has been outlining.”

Trump and labor unions have had a contentious relationship throughout the election and transition period. Unions have blasted the president-elect for his stance on a range of workplace issues and for his cabinet picks. But international trade and protecting American jobs have been points of agreement.

Trump has relentlessly attacked poorly-negotiated trade deals and lax border enforcement because of their impact on the working class. He has also threatened to raise taxes on companies that outsource jobs. Critics have argued restricting international commerce will do more harm than good.

Trump has said trade deals must be renegotiated so domestic workers aren’t hurt. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the now derailed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) were often cited by the president-elect as harmful to American workers.

International trade in recent years has become a heated issue that has created some unlikely allies. Democratic President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans both worked to get TPP passed. Trump, left-leaning Democrats, and unions, however, have been adamantly opposed to the trade deal.

Trump will have the chance to prove whether he can fight outsourcing when he is sworn in Jan. 20. He has already been talking to business leaders and made moves to save jobs at individual companies.

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President-elect Donald Trump promised to help fix the economy, and one place he could focus on is people who have dropped out of the labor market.

President Barack Obama oversaw a sluggish economic recovery throughout his time in office. The economy has improved greatly in recent years, but there is still room for improvement. One major area the president-elect could target is the labor force participation rate.

“There is definitely room for improvement,” Mercatus Center Fellow Adam Millsap told InsideSources. “That’s the easy question, though. The much harder question is what to do about it. I think going forward more economic growth would help. Growth has actually picked up this last quarter but prior to that it’s been pretty slow.”

The unemployment rate has remained low as the economy has steadily gained jobs. It doesn’t, however, factor in those who have suffered long-term joblessness. The labor force participation rate, in contrast, tracks the number of employed and those actively seeking work as a percentage of the total population. Brookings Institution Economist Gary Burtless says the next administration should focus on making sure employment continues it’s upwards trend.

“A tighter job market means higher wages for people who just joined the workforce,” Burtless told InsideSources. “It means that people who have been on the sidelines think that they will be able to find jobs more easily.”

The labor force participation rate currently sits at just 62.7 percent. It has fallen considerably since the last recession almost a decade ago even with the fairly consistent employment growth in recent years. Applied Economic Strategies Economist Mark Wilson notes addressing the tax and regulatory burden could help to encourage job growth.

“You can reduce corporate taxes, you can reduce regulations, reduce the burden on jobs and labor,” Wilson told InsideSources. “That would, of course, increase the demand for labor and that will have a direct effect on increasing the supply.”

Trump has released a detailed plan aimed at reforming our current tax system. His plan would reduce the tax burden for both higher and middle-income earners, as well as corporations. It would also simplify the tax system. A simple corporate tax system with reduced rates could have a major impact on job creation.

“The Trump administration coming in is talking about lowering the corporate tax rate to make the American tax code a little more competitive with the rest of the world,” Millsap said. “I think that would be helpful, getting the corporate tax rate down.”

Trump has also expressed interest in a major infrastructure investment program. The program could help fix issues with the national infrastructure while creating new job opportunities. National construction projects, however, face many rules and regulations, like the prevailing wage, that could limit how much jobs are created. The prevailing wage dictates what the majority of workers must be paid while working on government contracts in particular regions.

“One could relax those requirements or simply make the prevailing wage the actual competitive wage,” Wilson said. “That is something that could result in more people being hired to work on federal construction projects. It could also stretch the infrastructure dollar so you can do more.”

The working class became a critical demographic in the past election. Trump won its support by promising to help workers in industries that have been losing jobs to immigration and trade. He promised to help protect jobs, but a better approach might be to help workers transition to where they are still needed.

“We don’t have very much in the way of active labor market policy,” Burtless said. “Not programs to send people checks if they get disabled or they get unemployed, but instead programs that reengage people, requalify them for a new occupation.”

Trump has several options to help workers transition to new industries. A popular solution is federal training programs to provide those workers with the new skills they need. Burtless notes it’s a good idea to look first at existing institutions like colleges.

“I think you want to rely as much as you can on the existing institutions and just nudge these institutions so they are more welcoming in taking in nontraditional students,” Burtless said. “Not just people in their late teens and twenties.”

Republicans tend to be opposed to raising the minimum wage out of concern it will reduce employment, but a higher minimum wage could potentially help get people back to work. Some may not be incentivized to work when the only jobs available to them are low-wage. This would need to be balanced against concerns that employers can’t afford to pay more than the worker is worth.

“Increasing the minimum wage in a measured way could encourage more people to enter the labor force,” Wilson said. “The higher the cost of labor, the less labor employers are going to buy, and so you have to very carefully find the sweet spot for an increase there.”

Trump could also look to reform the welfare system as a way to increase the participation rate. Policies which reduce fraud or increase requirements have been shown in the past to help push people back to work. Wilson notes it might be time to overhaul the welfare system again.

“That had an impact on the labor force participation rate and it encouraged work,” Wilson said. “Do we need another round of welfare reform to encourage people who are able-bodied and eligible to actually look for work.”

The welfare system is designed to address many needs like food, housing, and healthcare. Most of the programs require able-bodied recipients without children to get a job or else lose benefits. Disability insurance is different in that people can stay on indefinitely once they qualify.

“There’s a serious amount of fraud happening here and we have to be tough about this,” New York University Prof. Lawrence Mead told InsideSources. “Most of these men have work histories, it’s not as if they’ve never worked, and as a result, I don’t think there is a need to create a vast work structure for them. The main thing is to just prevent them from getting on the program.”

Mead adds reforming the disability programs won’t help those that have suffered from long-term poverty. There are many who have no substantial work histories and may come from generations of poverty. Those people could benefit from welfare programs that help them enter the workforce.

Trump could also look specifically at which groups have been leaving the labor force the most. Mead says that men have been dropping out at a more significant rate. He adds past welfare reforms helped slow the rate women were dropping out so future reforms could try to do the same for men.

“First, we are talking about men, and not women,” Mead said. “Women are also withdrawing from the workforce but there was a recent big increase in connection with welfare reform.”

Nevertheless, there is still room for policies that address the decline of women in the workforce. Burtless argues this is one area lawmakers could look to other countries. Sweden, Denmark, France, and others have much more robust programs designed to help woman enter and stay in the workforce.

“We don’t have programs that make work as attractive to women as work is in some of these other countries,” Burtless said. “Even Japan has better, more universal, more generously subsidized daycare for the kids.”

Trump has many options available to him to increase the labor force participation rate. There are still policies, however, that might be worth avoiding. Millsap notes his promise to preserve jobs through trade restrictions might not be the best approach.

“I think a lot of the rhetoric we have been hearing is not going to work,” Millsap said. “There’s been a lot of talk about reducing international trade and trying to bring some of the jobs back that way. I don’t think that’s going to be a huge help. We need to go away from the rhetoric that the government is going to help you.”

There is also the question of how many more people the upcoming administration can actually get back into the workforce. The labor force participation rate is a percentage of the total population so it includes retirees and adult students. Those types of groups tend to have a good reason not to be included in the workforce.

“We haven’t recovered even among prime-age people,” Burtless said. “The age of the population is the single biggest thing that has driven down the participation rate over the last decade but there has been a decline in the participation of prime-age people and we can’t lay that at the feet of the population aging.”

Trump will have the chance to prove whether he can improve the labor market after he is sworn Jan. 20. Republicans were able to maintain congressional control which could prove critical to getting his ideas implemented.

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