We’re living in a time of rapid technological change. In some cases, it will take many years to see the impacts on our daily lives. (We looked at three such examples in our 2026 report, On the Horizon).
One area where the impacts are more concrete is manufacturing of advanced technologies.
But did you know that the U.S. has lagged behind other nations in manufacturing advanced technology products in recent decades? This led to a $400 billion trade deficit in advanced technology products in 2025.
So what is the federal government doing about it?
To see the big picture, sometimes it helps to start small.
How many times have you pulled out your cell phone today to find something quickly?
A lot, right?
That device in your hand is just one small example of how advanced, high-tech products can make our lives easier, safer, healthier. And how manufacturing these products can help drive our economy.
Now let’s zoom out for the 30,000-foot view.
For example, a company working with one of the institutes, America Makes, in Youngstown, Ohio, developed a plastic that could help 3D print replacement parts for military aircraft.
Another example: a member of the PowerAmerica Institute in Raleigh, North Carolina, developed a new type of semiconductor for the company’s next generation of off-road vehicles.
As of December 2024, the Departments of Commerce, Energy, and Defense established 17 of these institutes and gave them several hundred million dollars a year in recent years.
Click the circles on the map below for more information.
To meet the nation’s goals, Congress needs to know how far federal agencies have come and where they’re headed in implementing the Manufacturing USA Program.
GAO has reported to Congress since 2017 on the program’s work.
In April 2017, we steps to strengthen interagency collaboration, and Commerce did this in October 2019. Two years later in May 2019, we made additional , including that Commerce work with Defense and Energy to better measure performance across the Manufacturing USA network. As of April 2026, this work is still underway.
Most recently, in June 2025, we that Congress consider aligning the time frames for updating a required Manufacturing USA Program strategic plan with that of a higher-level national strategy for advanced manufacturing. Congress aligned these time frames in December 2025.
For more details, see our reports below.
For more information contact Hilary M. Benedict, Director, Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics, benedicth@gao.gov.
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