Building for tomorrow: Preparing US industry to compete in a lower-carbon global economy
The importance of an effective US industrial strategy is growing amid rapid technological change, rising energy demand, and geopolitical uncertainty. In response, policymakers are focused on how US industry can stay competitive in an era of electrification, digitalization, and AI, as well as global conflict.
Key industrial sectors like steel, aluminum, cement, and chemicals must meet rising global demand for low-emissions products while countering unfair trade practices, especially from countries like China that use state support and low environmental standards to undercut competitors. Durable US competitiveness will depend on supportive policies and transparent markets that reward higher environmental and labor standards.
The question for US policymakers is not whether to compete, but how. Industrial policy is a bipartisan priority, even if strategies differ, and a national security imperative. Given its fiscal constraints, the United States must find ways to ensure its industries thrive globally while avoiding new spending.
Over the past year, the Atlantic Council engaged dozens of industrial stakeholders from private, public, and nonprofit sectors to assess how the United States can lead in sustainable industrial development. The consensus: although no specific outcome is assured, the country is well-positioned to lead if it acts decisively. This study concludes with near-term recommendations to overcome barriers and lay the foundation for a revitalized, competitive, and sustainable US industrial strategy.
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About the authors
David Goldwyn is the chair of the Atlantic Council’s Energy Advisory Group and a nonresident senior fellow with the Council’s Global Energy Center.
Andrea Clabough is a nonresident fellow with the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center and an associate at Goldwyn Global Strategies, LLC.
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The Global Energy Center develops and promotes pragmatic and nonpartisan policy solutions designed to advance global energy security, enhance economic opportunity, and accelerate pathways to net-zero emissions.
Image: An employee manufactures a component for new Amtrak Acela trains. REUTERS/Kamil Krzaczynski