Fixing America’s Quality Crisis Starts With Reforming the Baldrige Award

In recent years, a troubling pattern has emerged among major American companies: a diminishing focus on product quality.

Take household appliances. American-made dishwashers and washing machines are increasingly viewed as less reliable and efficient than foreign alternatives. Buyers now flock to Korean and Chinese models that last longer, run quieter, and clean better.

Tariffs and tax breaks won’t fix America’s quality crisis. But perhaps an overhaul of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (Baldrige Award) will. With applications for the 2025 award now under evaluation, this is the ideal time to ask whether the program still serves its original purpose or if it needs a strategic reboot.

The Baldrige Award was created in 1987 to help U.S. manufacturers compete with rising industrial powers like Japan and Germany, which had captured global market share in the 1970s and ’80s by relentlessly prioritizing product quality. Congress responded by establishing the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Improvement Act, named after the late commerce secretary, to boost U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness through excellence.

The award’s mission was clear: promote performance excellence, showcase national role models, and spread best practices across the economy. Other nations had already adopted similar awards. Japan’s Deming Prize, founded in 1951 and named after American quality pioneer W. Edwards Deming, offered a blueprint.

Administered by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in partnership with the private sector, the Baldrige Award remains the only presidential honor for organizational performance, innovation, and resilience.

But recently, as America’s position in advanced industries erodes, quality is once again taking a back seat. Under pressure to deliver short-term shareholder returns, many firms have taken their eye off the quality ball. Industry giants like Boeing and General Electric—once synonymous with excellence and reliability—are falling short of the standards that built their reputations and the nation’s industrial prowess.

U.S. product recalls have surged. And according to the 2024 Forrester Customer Experience Index, which evaluates customer satisfaction across nearly 500 brands in 14 industries, quality among U.S. brands sits at an all-time low after declining for an unprecedented third consecutive year.

This deterioration in quality standards directly undermines America’s competitive position in the global marketplace. When international customers cannot rely on U.S. products to meet consistent quality benchmarks, they take their business elsewhere.

The consequences are far-reaching:

• Lost global market share
• A tarnished reputation for U.S. manufacturing
• Fewer export opportunities
• Supply chains shifting away from American companies
• Reduced innovation as firms divert resources to fix preventable problems

The Baldrige Award was supposed to be a policy tool to address exactly these challenges. But it’s no longer up to the task. The program has drifted from its original purpose and no longer reflects the kind of innovation and excellence the United States needs to stay competitive in advanced industries.

The 2024 winners included a community college, a Native American health service, a small city in Nevada, a consulting firm, and a dental insurer. None compete on the global stage. Nor did any of the other four finalists. In fact, no company engaged in international competition has won the award since at least 2013.

It’s time for Commerce Secretary Lutnick to redesign the program and give it a singular focus: strengthening America’s global competitiveness in advanced technology industries.

That means narrowing eligibility. The award should focus on three categories only:

1. Mid- to large-sized manufacturers
2. Mid- to large-sized service firms
3. Small businesses

All applicants should operate in globally traded sectors and face significant competition, whether at home or abroad.

This tighter focus would also elevate the award’s visibility. As it stands, the Baldrige Award has little public profile, making it difficult to influence corporate behavior. Most Americans—and many executives, outside of a few specialized fields—have never heard of it. But that would quickly change if major firms started winning. The Alamo Colleges District, a 2024 recipient, likely did little to promote the award beyond its own community. Now imagine the difference if Ford or Intel were to take home the honor.

To reinforce this shift, President Trump should commit to hosting an annual White House ceremony honoring the winners. Such national recognition would highlight their achievements and send a clear signal to other firms: quality and innovation are back at the heart of America’s industrial strategy.

With the 2025 application evaluation process kicking off today, there’s no better moment to realign the program with what matters most: national competitiveness. U.S. companies built their global reputations on quality and reliability. Reclaiming that legacy isn’t just good business—it’s essential to restoring America’s leadership in an increasingly competitive global economy. Refocusing the Baldrige Award is a simple but strategic step in that direction.