"We're from the government, and we're here to help you." Sound familiar? If you're involved with precious metal plating, chances are you're also involved with government agencies that formulate rules affecting your business. You are not alone in asking, "How do you protect your interests, and help prevent illogical, poorly timed, or stifling regulations from negatively impacting your business?" (See the accompanying sidebar, "Industry Trade Groups: Our Voice in Washington.") Just like there's more than one way to plate a part, there are many ways to address these issues. Obviously you can get involved personally with legislative and enforcement agencies, and hope that you can exert influence in the right direction with the right people. For the most part, though, direct individual lobbying is time consuming, expensive, and simply is too much of a distraction from our main tasks of operating your businesses. For that reason most people don't get involved with government agencies on an individual level. Instead, they join forces with larger organizations composed of people with similar interests - usually in the form of trade association memberships and participation.
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