Manufacturing Momentum Summit 2025: Shaping the Future Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Advanced manufacturing is changing fast. AI, robotics, and new energy technologies are transforming production and creating urgent new demands for talent. In August, the Manufacturing Momentum Summit will bring together national leaders from workforce, education, and economic development to tackle this challenge. Hosted with ManTech EWD and the Department of Defense, Upjohn Institute, and CREC, the summit will connect those shaping a resilient, scalable manufacturing workforce. States play a critical role in aligning workforce strategies with national and local economic needs. Be part of the national conversation and shape your state’s economic future. Join us August 4-7, 2025, in Detroit, Michigan! Register here!

SEDE Steering Committee Member Spotlight: Michelle Hataway, Director, Missouri Department of Economic Development

In her more than nine years with the Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED), Hataway has served as regional manager, deputy director, and director of the Division of Regional Engagement. More recently, she served as deputy director of DED before being appointed as DED Director in 2024.

Prior to joining DED, Hataway held positions with her family’s 90-year-old business and at Netflix. Hataway earned a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in communication studies from the University of Alabama.

SEDE Members on the Move: Rhode Island Commerce Corporation

We’re pleased to share recent leadership changes within the SEDE Network. Join us in celebrating these transitions and welcoming new leaders to our community!

Leader Moving On: Liz Tanner, Secretary of Commerce

Liz Tanner was appointed as Secretary in 2022 and is well-recognized for her efforts to make it easier to do business in Rhode Island. During her tenure, she oversaw broadband expansion, small business support programs, and major economic development efforts. She will become executive director of Ocean State 2026, the nonprofit formed to help Rhode Island capitalize on economic opportunities related to next summer’s major international soccer tournament. Liz was strong contributor to SEDE offering insights and perspectives on state economic development activities.

Incoming Leader: Jim Bennett, Interim Commerce Secretary

Bennett, who has led a number of private sector firms, served as the head of economic development for the City of Providence. and chaired the Rhode Island Convention Center. Most recently, he joined the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation as President and Chief Operating Officer in April 2024. SEDE is looking forward to Secretary Bennett joining the SEDE Network.

Senate Committee Approves FY26 Appropriations Bill (U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations) The Senate Committee on Appropriations today approved the Fiscal Year 2026 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations Act, providing support for law enforcement, economic development, scientific research, and other national priorities. The measure provides $79.7 billion in discretionary funding, including $6.6 billion in defense funding and $73.1 billion in nondefense funding. Highlights include:

Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration:$605 million to assist efforts to promote exports from small- and medium-sized businesses.
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST): $1.6 billion for NIST to help maintain U.S. leadership in cutting-edge fields such as quantum information science and artificial intelligence. This includes $175 million for the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Program.
National Science Foundation (NSF):$9 billion for the NSF to maintain U.S. leadership in scientific research and discovery. Within the funding, the bill continues support for key research in quantum information science and artificial intelligence; support for Regional Innovation Engines; and support for critical research facilities.

NSF Advances 29 Semifinalists in the Second NSF Regional Innovation Engines Competition (NSF) The U.S. National Science Foundation Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) program announced the 29 semifinalists advancing to the next stage of the second competition – spanning critical technologies and applications ranging from energy grid security to maximizing the yield of critical minerals mining to advanced optical sensors. This cohort of semifinalists includes 17 NSF Engines Development Awards teams who received two-year planning grants in 2023 and early 2024 that they leveraged to help build coalitions and refine visions for dynamic innovation ecosystems within their regions. NSF anticipates announcing the final list of NSF Engines awards in early 2026.

National Housing Crisis Task Force Releases State and Local Housing Action Plan (National Housing Crisis Task Force) The National Housing Crisis Task Force released its State and Local Housing Action Plan which provides a playbook for innovations across the housing ecosystem through five focus areas: land, capital, construction, regulation and policy, and governance. Communities can use this Action Plan as a roadmap and menu for successful interventions in local and regional housing markets. States and Regional Development Organizations (RDOs) are encouraged to share these findings with community members engaged in housing work and identify solutions in the Action Plan that they can take at the regional level.

Rural Investment Collaborative’s Community Investment Training Program (Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond) The Rural Investment Collaborative, a signature initiative of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, seeks to improve economic investment in small towns and rural communities. The application period for the Rural Investment Collaborative’s 2026 Community Investment Training program will be open July 7-August 20. Applications will be considered from rural communities in NC, SC, VA, WV, and MD.

*Economy 💰*

How Did the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Change Opportunity Zones? (The Brookings Institution) Opportunity Zones, created by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, offer generous tax incentives for private investors who put money into any of 8,764 census tracts across the U.S., nearly all of them low-income communities. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) signed into law in July 2025 will tweak the program and make the tax incentive permanent. The bill will sunset the current set of OZs at the end of 2026 (instead of 2028 as in previous law) and create a new set of zones beginning in January 2027. Governors must pick new zones every 10 years. Some census tracts currently eligible for the OZ tax break will not be included in the new round, and the tax break, including the deferral of capital gains, will be available after January 1, 2027, only for investments made in the newly designated zones. The bill will also narrow the eligibility criteria, with the threshold for low-income communities falling from 80% of statewide median income to 70%. The law also adds incentives for rural areas.

Inflation Picks Up Again in June, Rising At 2.7% Annual Rate (NBC News) The consumer price index, a broad-based measure of goods and services costs, increased 0.3% on the month, putting the 12-month inflation rate at 2.7%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The numbers were right in line with the Dow Jones consensus. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, core inflation picked up 0.2% in the month, with the annual rate moving to 2.9%, with the annual rate in line with estimates. The monthly level was slightly below the outlook for a 0.3% gain. With the rise in prices, inflation-adjusted hourly earnings fell 0.1% in June.

*Trade 📈*

How America’s Trading Partners Are Reacting to U.S. Tariffs (ITIF) Members of the Global Trade and Innovation Policy Alliance (GTIPA) from 17 countries have come together to analyze how each economy is responding to this new cycle of global trade. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), based in the United States, prepared a questionnaire to assess how countries outside America are reacting to the trade war. Several common patterns were observed among the countries included in this analysis. Most countries prefer to prioritize trade negotiations with the United States over taking retaliatory measures, particularly U.S. allies and smaller economies. At the same time, countries are adopting two distinct strategies to mitigate trade uncertainties: diversifying their export markets to reduce reliance on fluctuations in the United States and implementing internal economic policies to support sectors affected by the trade war and enhance self-reliance. Nearly all countries considered in this study anticipate being affected by the global economic slowdown resulting from the trade war in the short term.

The Economic Implications of Tariff Increases (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco) The United States trades with many other countries; recent increases and proposed additional changes to tariffs on U.S. imports from these and other countries have the potential to significantly affect both domestic economic activity and the global trade landscape. This analysis uses a theoretical framework to analyze the effects of a specific set of potential tariff changes: a 25% increase in the import tariff on Canadian and Mexican goods, a 30% increase in the import tariff on Chinese goods, and a 10% increase in the import tariff on goods from all other countries. This scenario of tariff increases would lead to an increase in employment for the U.S. manufacturing sector. However, this comes at the expense of employment in the services and agricultural sectors, offsetting any gains and resulting in a projected overall decline in U.S. employment. The analysis incorporates the likely redistribution of tariff-generated revenue and differential trade exposure across states. This shows which states would gain or lose more from the tariff changes. Results suggest that 31 states would gain real income, in some cases as much as 1.7%, while the remaining 19 states would lose, with some experiencing declines greater than 2%.

*Industry Trends 💡*

NSF Invests $25.5M in Research for New U.S. Manufacturing Technologies and Talent Pipelines (NSF) The U.S. National Science Foundation has announced a $25.5 million investment to support fundamental research and workforce development aimed at enabling future generations of U.S. manufacturing. This year’s awards will support seven research grants and nine seed projects across 36 institutions and companies through the NSF Future Manufacturing (NSF FM) program. The NSF FM program focuses on areas such as biomanufacturing, cyber manufacturing and ecomanufacturing, with some efforts exploring intersections with quantum manufacturing. This brings NSF’s total investment through the FM program to over $163 million in the five years of the program.

Smaller Nuclear Reactors Spark Renewed Interest in a Once-Shunned Energy Source (Stateline) States are actively positioning themselves as leaders in clean energy innovation by embracing small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs). With AI data centers driving massive energy demand, states like Alaska, Ohio, and Texas are leveraging legislation, public-private partnerships, and university research to pilot SMRs as a low-carbon, scalable solution. This re-emergence of nuclear — now smaller, safer, and faster to deploy — presents a critical opportunity for state policymakers and energy regulators to meet emissions goals, attract tech investment, and modernize infrastructure without over-relying on intermittent renewables or fossil fuels. In the past two years, 25 states have taken action to promote nuclear power, from creating nuclear task forces to integrating nuclear into long-term energy plans.

America’s First Semiconductor Technology Center Opens in Albany (WTEN Albany) NY Creates, the nation’s first semiconductor technology center, has opened and brings the Capital Region one step closer to becoming a global leader for chip research and manufacturing. The opening of America’s first National Semiconductor Technology Center (N.S.T.C.) marks a cornerstone that will advance manufacturing for decades to come. Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography is a $450 million dollar tool that produces incredibly small and powerful microchips, using high-power lasers to create extreme ultraviolet light. It enables them to print the smallest dimensions in the semiconductor chips. The EUV accelerator in Albany is one of only eight in the world. It will bring together the nation’s top scientists, universities, and companies under one roof, and two other facilities will complement the EUV accelerator: Natcast has a Design and Collaboration facility in Sunnyvale, California, as well as a Prototyping and Packaging facility in Tempe, Arizona.

*Workforce ⚒️*

DoD ManTech Program Grows U.S. Military Industrial Base (U.S. Department of Defense) The mission of the Defense Department Manufacturing Technology Program is to reduce the cost and time to manufacture critical defense weapons and systems through the development and application of advanced manufacturing technologies. DOD ManTech sponsors manufacturing innovation institutes across the country, while also collaborating with universities and a wide range of government agencies. Some of the many innovative technologies being developed include: additively manufactured rocket engines and parts, improved hypersonic ramjet engines, advanced metallics, wearable health sensors for biomonitoring service members, autonomous drone inspection systems to scan ships for defects, electrochemical machining for cannon barrel manufacturing and a new welding process for thermoplastic composite aircraft parts.

Caterpillar Pledges $100M Investment in the Future Workforce (Dallas News) As it celebrates its 100th anniversary, Caterpillar Inc. has committed $100 million to fund workforce development over five years in the U.S. and abroad. Caterpillar is the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. While the $100 million pledge will support new collaborations and programs, the funding builds on Caterpillar’s existing workforce initiatives, such as ThinkBIG, an innovative technician training program offered at colleges and technical institutes across the U.S. and beyond. The two-year program supplements traditional classroom work with a paid internship at a sponsoring Caterpillar dealership, and graduates earn an accredited degree backed up with over 2,000 hours of invaluable on-the-job experience. Caterpillar is also fostering an interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) among the younger generation by directing company funding to support local STEM nonprofits, schools and programs. This pledge will help prepare the future workforce for roles that aren’t yet created.

DoL Awards Nearly $84M in Grants to expand Registered Apprenticeships (U.S. Department of Labor) The U.S. Department of Labor announced nearly $84 million in grants to 50 states and territories to increase the capacity of Registered Apprenticeship programs. These awards represent the base formula funding and competitive funding to states to increase their ability to serve, improve, and expand Registered Apprenticeship programs. This investment will further accelerate Registered Apprenticeship programs, incentivize the creation and ongoing success of programs, reduce barriers to entry for new employers and industries, foster innovation, and enhance overall transparency among Registered Apprenticeship stakeholders. The funding advances the expansion of Registered Apprenticeships in both traditional and emerging industries, including technology, Artificial Intelligence, advanced manufacturing, supply chain, transportation, building trades, and construction.

*Business Expansions and Incentives 📊*

The Impact of Tariffs on Economic Incentives (Site Selection Group) Companies typically locate where costs are low, logistics are efficient, talent is abundant, and economic incentives are attractive. When a country imposes tariffs on imported goods, it typically increases the cost of doing business, which can lead a company to choose to relocate some or all its operations to lower-cost or tariff-free jurisdictions. Unless there is a specific reason to locate in a particular state (such as labor, supplier base, customer base, or raw materials), a company will weigh which states offer the best tax environment and economic incentives. States respond by offering cash grants, tax breaks, infrastructure support, workforce training, and other incentives to lure relocating plants. While tariffs can strengthen local economies, they also risk triggering retaliatory measures — so states must stay agile, especially those rich in mining and agricultural assets, which may benefit or be impacted by tariffs the most.

EdgeCore Digital Infrastructure Announces Plans to Invest $17B in Virginia (USA Today) EdgeCore Digital Infrastructure, a wholesale data center developer, owner, and operator, announced the purchase of 697 acres of land in Louisa County, Virginia, and plans to develop a 3.9 million square foot high-density data center campus capable of demanding over 1.1 gigawatts of power. As EdgeCore has done with its data center campuses in other markets, the company will employ its community-first approach in Louisa County. Residents can expect EdgeCore’s development to generate economic growth and jobs, as well as to have minimal impact on local water supplies and the surrounding Central Virginia landscape.

GE Appliances Completes $180M Georgia Plant Expansion (ManufacturingDive) GE Appliances has completed a $180 million expansion of subsidiary Roper Corp.’s cooking products manufacturing facility in LaFayette, Georgia. The investment is an increase from its initial $118 million announcement in 2021. The additional $60 million went toward purchasing additional equipment and expanding production capacity. The combined investment created more than 600 jobs. It also enables the company to add automated technology to its lines such as robotic cells that can assemble glass cooktops, program control boards and rotate units, according to the press release.

The State Economic Development Executives (SEDE) Network engages in regular events throughout the year. State Economic Development.org lists these activities and offers an interactive forum for discussion among peers. The SEDE Steering Committee includes: Sandra Watson (AZ), Chair; Clint O’Neal (AR); Kurt Foreman (DE); Kevin McKinnon (MN); Michelle Hataway (MO); Hope Knight (NY); Christopher Chung (NC); Andrew Deye (OH); Sophorn Cheang (OR); Adriana Cruz (TX).

Allison Ulaky of the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) led the development of this Bulletin; for questions on the content in this Bulletin or for information on the SEDE Network contact Bob Isaacson, CREC Senior Vice President.

State Economic Development Bulletin – Issue 83, July 2025

HEADLINES

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