A Tervis Tumbler sat on a table at the White House on Monday alongside American-made products from 49 other states of the union. As President Donald Trump issued a proclamation for the first “Made In America Day,” the Venice-made product stood in for the interests of Florida.

Rogan Donnelly, Tervis president, joined other manufacturers at a special ceremony in Washington, DC. “It's an honor to represent the 700 employees who design, decorate and build Tervis drinkware with American hands and values,” says Donnelly. While Tervis officials made clear on social media that participation in the event should not be seen as a political message, they also touted the invitation to represent the Sunshine State at an event designed “to highlight American-Made products that stimulate the economy and create jobs for American workers.”

President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence both took the opportunity to boast about a record number of actions aimed at loosening regulations on American manufacturers. Trump repeated a major pledge of his campaign, to renegotiate trade agreements with nations overseas to better serve US companies. Specifically, he said he would demand reciprocity in tariffs, stating that countries that charge for certain American products to be imported should see like assessments levied when the same products come into the United States. “We’re going to have a level playing field,” says Trump. “I say level, but if the table’s slanted slightly toward us, I’d accept that also.” 

Tervis over the past decade stepped up production in Venice, expanding facilities and adding lines of products. Tervis tumblers and other products, while often made with materials produced overseas, get assembled exclusively at a plant in North Venice. Company officials also noted that all products were designed here and that Tervis employs in-house artists to create the original wraps and other elements decorating the glasses.

Trump at the ceremony stated that, as president, he will support policies that benefit companies doing their product creation here. “When we purchase products made in the USA, profits stay here, revenue stays here and jobs, maybe most importantly of all, stay here,” Trump says. “No longer are we going to allow other countries to break the rules, steal our jobs and drain our wealth. And it has been drained.”