On Thursday, May 31, 2018, Stephen Gray, president and CEO of Gray Construction, an AGC of Kentucky member, appeared on CNBC. Opening the hit show "Closing Bell," Gray discussed the newly announced steel tariffs speaking about the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) alongside Barry Zekelman, CEO and executive chairman of Zekelman Industries. 

In March, the White House announced a 25 percent tariff on foreign-made steel and 10 percent tariff on aluminum. Reaction has been fierce from U.S. trading partners to international companies with large supply chains. 

Tariffs could discourage FDI in the U.S., creating a perception where the U.S. is not a destination for investment.

"What we see and what we are concerned about is creating almost a hyper sense of a trade negotiation to where foreign companies don’t feel comfortable coming to the United States," said Stephen Gray. "70 percent of our business is foreign companies coming to the U.S. to manufacture."

"What I want to think about is – how does the United States continue to be a friendly country for capital destination?" he continued.

In November, Gray appeared on CNBC’s Power Lunch program highlighting the business impact on corporate tax reform.  

Visit CNBC to watch more on Gray’s perspective.  

 

Gray Construction is a nationally ranked engineering, architecture and construction firm with nearly 60 years of experience in manufacturing, automotive, food and beverage, distribution, hospitality and retail facility construction. Currently, Gray has several large projects that are underway or recently completed including: a Mercedes-Benz manufacturing facility in Vance, Ala., as well as a new global logistics parts consolidation center (PCC) for Mercedes-Benz in Woodstock, Ala.; a world-class DogStar® Kitchens for Champion Petfoods in Auburn, Ky., as well as custom-fitted new NorthStar® Kitchens for Champion in Alberta, Canada; a manufacturing facility for Italian paper product manufacturer Sofidel in Circleville, Ohio and Okla.; a fresh pork processing facility for Clemens Food Group in Coldwater, Mich., a winner of ProFood World magazine’s Manufacturing Innovation Awards; and a state-of-the-art meat processing and packaging facility for Kraft Heinz recently named Food Engineering’s 2018 Plant of the Year in Davenport, Iowa. For more information on Gray, visit www.gray.com.