Rethink Robotics, the pioneering manufacturer of the Baxter and Sawyer collaborative robots, closed for business Oct. 3, just 10 years after it started.

After five straight weeks of talks to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement, the U.S. and Mexico finally reached a new trade deal in August.

My wife and I are mad birders. Our passion has taken us to remote corners of the globe in search of rare and beautiful birds. But, birding trips often come with strict limits on the size and weight of luggage, so we've learned to pack judiciously. Do we really need X? Can we do without Y?

On June 1, the U.S. imposed a 25 percent tariff on steel, and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum, imported from the European Union, Canada and Mexico.

All four of my grandparents were European immigrants. Two came from southern Italy; one from Poland; another from Ire-land. They were poor with no skills and little or no education. They became a shoemaker, a baker, a sewer worker, and a full-time mom.

Last December, President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into law. The largest shake-up to the federal tax code in more than 30 years, the law includes myriad changes that will benefit manufacturers.

Last summer, my nephew, the college student, landed a job driving a school bus. The company loves him, and it happily took him back during his winter and spring breaks. Though he had a spotless driving record, he had never driven a bus before. His primary qualification? He passed the company’s drug test. Dozens of more qualified drivers could not.

Last month, I wrote about the Trump administration's decision to impose tariffs on imported washing machines. As with much of what this administration has done so far, there were no shortage of opinions one way or the other, and I received many comments.

In January, the Trump administration imposed tariffs on imported washing machines.

Last month, Mazda and Toyota selected Huntsville, AL, as the site of a new joint-venture assembly plant. The factory will have the capacity to build 300,000 vehicles annually, with production split evenly between the two companies. Mazda intends to use the facility to produce a new crossover model for the North American market, while Toyota will use the factory to make Corollas.