According to new data released yesterday by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in U.S. manufacturing is projected to decline by 1.5 million jobs from 2006 to 2016.  In the same period of time, employment in goods-producing industries is expected to decrease from 14.9% to 13.1% of total U.S. employment. This projected decline in American manufacturing employment, while not surprising, is extremely disheartening.  Manufacturing has historically offered the best route for American workers to achieve middle class prosperity.  And these benefits extend throughout the U.S. economy since manufacturing is both a job multiplier and pays consistently higher wages than service industry work.    AAM’s Scott Paul discusses this key importance of manufacturing in today’s Charlotte Observer and notes that while “most industrialized nations have policies to grow domestic manufacturing, America does not.”  That’s why it’s particularly important for voters to demand action from this year’s presidential contenders to strengthen U.S. manufacturing.  In fact, the need to enforce U.S. trade law grows ever more serious.  China is poised to knock off America’s remaining domestic automotive industry in the next few years.  In 2009, China’s cheap new passenger car, the Chery, will come ashore.  The Chery will cost less than a comparable American car, but for reasons that ought to be noted very clearly.  As Scott Paul points out in a Huffington Post article on the subject, “Some of Chery's major inputs--energy and metals--are heavily and illegally subsidized by the Chinese government at both the provincial and national level.”  When one factors in currency manipulation, penny-wage labor, unsafe factory conditions, and lack of environmental controls in Chinese factories, it becomes evident that while the Chery may have a lower sticker price, there are hidden, less pleasant costs to consider overall. And it shouldn’t be outside the scope of public debate to ponder whether the Chery will actually prove safe on the road.  Given China’s recent track record of producing cheap, unsafe, tires, toys, toothpaste, and other goods, there’s no telling where their inexpensive cars fall short in personal safety. All of this should make for a key part of the 2008 presidential campaign, and in fact, trade policy seems to be moving closer to center stage.  Just yesterday, Democratic presidential hopefuls competed with one another to talk tough on both China’s illegal currency manipulation and human rights abuses—a hopeful sign for the 2008 election.