In most parts of the country, American shoppers understand the importance of getting the best value for their dollars. This type of common sense does not apply in Washington, D.C., where one day the federal government buys $16 muffins and the next it tries to pass laws making it illegal for state and local governments to buy inexpensive foreign-made products. According to President Obama’s proposed American Jobs Act: None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used for a project for the construction, alteration, …
When it comes to legislative PR, it doesn’t get much better than “Buy American.” What could possibly be more patriotic than buying American-made products? During tough economic times, mandating that government contractors use only goods with the Made in the USA label doesn’t just sound like good policy, it seems like plain old common sense. We all want to create American jobs and promote American manufacturing. So when a dramatic expansion of Buy American regulations was included in the “stimulus” bill, it may have sounded like a great idea on …
Considering how Big Labor has been forcing our government to treat them, the only surprise is that this didn’t happen sooner: WHISTLER, B.C. — Canadian mayors have ended their annual conference with a renewed call to shut out U.S. bidders from municipal stimulus spending. Mayors narrowly passed a resolution saying as much at their annual conference in Whistler, B.C., on Saturday in retaliation for a “Buy American” policy south of the border that some say is costing jobs in this country. Jean Perrault, outgoing president of the Federation of Canadian …
Dangerous currents advocating protectionism are alive and well on both sides of the Atlantic. A “Buy American” clause in the latest U.S. stimulus package may have been eased to avoid violation of bilateral trade agreements, but its protectionist intentions remain. But the European Union is in no position to lecture America about protectionism. In what the Financial Times describe as the biggest European auto bail out, France will give Renault and Peugeot-Citroën €3bn ($3.9bn) each in preferential loans in exchange for keeping jobs in France. Italy has quickly followed suit …
As destructive as we believe the economic stimulus bill that President Barack Obama signed Tuesday is, the Obama Administration could undo a significant portion of the legislation’s damage today, and this weekend. President Obama will travel to Ottawa today to meet with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Also today, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will travel to South Korea before moving onto China Friday. Obama and Clinton can help avert disaster for America and the world by reassuring our global trading partners that the “Buy America” provisions snuck into the economic …
