WASHINGTON – As part of his continued effort to fight for Connecticut workers, jobs, and businesses, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) met with several of Connecticut’s manufacturers from the defense, automobile, and aerospace industries. Murphy spoke with the Submarine Industrial Base Council, the Connecticut State Council of Machinists, and the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) about the critical role that they and other Connecticut manufacturers play throughout Connecticut communities, creating new jobs and accelerating the state’s economic recovery. Murphy also discussed his efforts to ensure that federal trade and export policies are optimized so that Connecticut manufacturers can expand their businesses and create even more jobs for the state’s hardworking residents.

Today, Connecticut’s 4,602 manufacturers account for 87% of the state’s total exports, and according to a new report released by the U.S. Department of Commerce, an extraordinary 76,291 Connecticut jobs are supported by these exports. In fact, for every new manufacturing job created by exports, another 1.6 jobs are added to the local service economy, and for every dollar in manufacturing sales, another $1.34 is added to the economy.

In order to protect and grow these jobs in Connecticut, Murphy has sought to eliminate barriers to U.S. exports and update export policies that do not meet the needs of Connecticut’s economy, and has introduced two pieces of legislation - the 21st Century Buy American Act and the American Jobs Matter Act - that would strengthen existing standards and prioritize the purchase of American-made goods.

“It was great to meet with so many Connecticut manufacturers today in Washington. There are several issues before Congress today that will mean the loss or gain of thousands of jobs in Connecticut, and so it was important to me to hear directly from the people that own, run, and work in Connecticut's factories. We have trade deals on the horizon that could incentivize more work to flow overseas. We are debating funding for the next generation of fighter planes and submarines, made in Connecticut. And we need to move forward on tax reform that will end subsidies to companies that outsource, and reward companies that create jobs here.”