Peter Connolly is CEO of the New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program, Inc. (NJMEP). – file photo
President Trump has made domestic manufacturing a central message of his administration. From rally stages to policy platforms, he and his administration have reiterated the importance of bringing jobs back to American soil, reshoring production, and restoring industrial strength.
“Jobs and factories will come roaring back.”
– President Donald J. Trump“Our goal is to make it easier and more affordable to make things again in the United States of America… If you invest in America, in American jobs and American workers and in American businesses, you’re going to be rewarded.”
– Vice President J.D. Vance
The words are powerful—and absolutely right.
American manufacturing should be roaring back. We should be investing in the businesses, the workers, and the innovation that allow us to make things here at home. Yet the Trump administration’s recent decision to not renew contracts for 10 regional Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) centers signals a very different reality.
The MEP National Network is not a bloated federal agency. It’s a high-performing system made up of public-private partnerships in every state—including the New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NJMEP)—with a proven track record of economic impact, efficiency, and value.
In FY24 alone, the MEP National Network supported more than 35,000 manufacturers across the country.
- 108,395 jobs were created or retained
- $15.0 billion in sales were generated
- $5.0 billion in new investments were unlocked
That’s the impact being threatened.
Right here in New Jersey, NJMEP’s work since 2019 has resulted in:
- 20,278 jobs created or retained
- A massive $1.42 billion in wage impact
- $130.03 in economic impact for every $1 invested
- More than $515.6 million in new sales supported, $1.46 billion in retained sales, and $125.9 million in cost savings to small-medium manufacturers
This is not theoretical. This is impact on the ground.
Small and mid-sized manufacturers don’t have built-in training departments or the resources to navigate complex regulatory and technological challenges alone. NJMEP is the partner that helps them meet today’s demands and prepare for tomorrow’s opportunities. Whether it’s workforce development, supply chain resilience, lean implementation, or adopting smart manufacturing technologies, we step in to make sure these businesses succeed—and by extension, so does New Jersey’s economy.
Eliminating the MEP Network does more than cut a program—it removes the scaffolding propping up the very sector this administration claims to prioritize.
You can’t say you support “Made in America” while stripping away the support systems that make domestic production viable for smaller firms. Manufacturing isn’t just about large-scale factories and big-name corporations—it’s about the family-owned machine shop in Paterson, the food processor in Vineland, the electronics maker in Trenton that are the backbone of the supply chain, supplying critical components to those big-name corporations. These are the businesses that NJMEP serves every single day.
Defunding the MEP Network would strip thousands of manufacturers of the very tools they need to compete. It would weaken our ability to reshore jobs, compromise our supply chain security, and make it harder to close the skilled labor gap that continues to challenge this industry.
Let me be clear: this is not a partisan plea. The MEP Network has long enjoyed bipartisan support, and for good reason. It works. It delivers. And the ROI is irrefutable. Policymakers on both sides of the aisle should be rallying to protect this investment, not slash it.
We urge the Trump administration and all federal decision-makers to reverse course and recommit funding to the MEP National Network. Manufacturing in the United States can thrive. The jobs can come roaring back. But not if we dismantle the very systems that make it possible.
New Jersey’s manufacturers are ready to build. We’re ready to train, to innovate, and to lead. But we can’t do it with one hand tied behind our back.
If we want American manufacturing to thrive, we must invest in what works—and the MEP Network works. It’s time to prove that “Made in America” is more than a slogan.
The opinions expressed in this op-ed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ROI-NJ.
