US President Barack Obama has signed a key industrial bill, aimed at bringing back thousands of jobs in manufacturing sector that over the years went to countries like China, into law to strengthen American economy. 

“We will rebuild this economy stronger than before and at its heart will be three powerful words: Made in America,” Obama said at a function held at the White House to sign the bill ‘Manufacturing Enhancement Act of 2010’ into law. 

“For too long, we’ve been buying too much from the rest of the world, when we should be selling more to the rest of the world. That’s why, in my State of the Union address, I set an ambitious goal for this country,” Obama said.

 “Over the next five years, we are going to double our exports of goods and services, an increase that will grow our economy and support millions of American jobs. We’ve got a lot of work to do to reach this goal. Our economy has fallen into the habit of buying from overseas and not selling the way it needs to.” 

It is vitally important for America to reverse the trend as 95 per cent of the world’s customers and fastest- growing markets are beyond its borders, he said, adding US workers can compete with anybody when the playing field is even. 

“And we’re going to compete aggressively for every job, for every industry, and every market out there,” Obama said. 

The Manufacturing Enhancement Act of 2010, he said, will create jobs, help American companies compete and strengthen manufacturing as a key driver of its economic recovery. 

“Here is how it works. To make their products, manufacturers — some of whom are represented here today — often have to import certain materials from other countries and pay tariffs on those materials,” he noted. 

The legislation, popularly known as ‘Made in America’, will reduce or eliminate some of those tariffs, which will significantly lower costs for American companies across the manufacturing landscape – from cars to chemicals, medical devices to sporting goods.

It will boost output, support good jobs here at home, and lower prices for American consumers, he asserted.

Obama said the manufacturing sector has actually added 183,000 jobs so far this year — the strongest seven months of manufacturing job growth in more than a decade.

“Instead of plants leaving America to set up shop overseas, we’ve actually begun to see the opposite – a growing number of firms setting up shop and hiring here at home,” he said.

“So we’re not yet where we need to be, but there are some good trends out there. And we can’t let up. We’ve got to keep moving forward. That’s why today, I’m signing a bill into law that will make it cheaper and easier for American manufacturers and American workers to do what they do best: build great products and sell them around the world,” the US President said before signing the Bill.