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  1. Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    14,181
    #11
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - "Buy American" provisions under consideration in Congress as part of a huge economic stimulus bill could create only 1,000 new steel industry jobs and might cost as many as 65,000 across a number of sectors, a new study said on Tuesday.
    "The negative job impact of foreign retaliation against Buy American provisions could easily outweigh the positive effect of the measures on jobs in the U.S. iron and steel sector and other industries," Gary Hufbauer and Jeffrey Schott, senior fellows at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said in the report.
    The study came as the Senate was debating a nearly $900 billion economic stimulus plan that allows only U.S.-made iron, steel and manufactured goods to be used in public works project funded by the bill.
    That built on a measure passed last week by the House as part of its $825 billion stimulus plan that would require the use of U.S.-made iron and steel in public works projects and which raised concerns among U.S. trading partners the United States was moving toward increased protectionism.
    The governments of both the European Union and Canada sent letters to Congress on Monday urging the provision be dropped.
    White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters on Tuesday the Obama administration was still reviewing its position on the Buy American provision, hours after House Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer said he thought foreign concerns about the measure were "justified."
    U.S. officials have responded to Canada's concerns but given no guarantees it would be excluded from the provisions if enacted, Canadian Trade Minister Stockwell Day said in Ottawa.
    "We're going to keep the pressure up," Day said.

    http://www.reuters.com/article/newsO...5115PM20090203


    And yes if the plan pushes through I am 99.9% sure it will backfire, I guess I am not alone in that belief...

  2. Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Posts
    607
    #12
    magagawa lang nila ito at a certain time (buy american )

    pag kulang na naman ang workers, wala silang choice they have to ask the world again.

  3. Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Posts
    5,994
    #13
    doesn't seem right. won't it make foreign investors go out of the country? or are they just playing under the thumb of corporatocracy?
    Damn, son! Where'd you find this?

  4. Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    14,181
    #14
    Well the idea here initially is to make sure the money goes back to Americans so the local economy accelerates again. Sounds good in paper. But the problem is the long term. Other countries will retaliate and also ban US imports or impose that they also buy local. So this just deepens the situation further as global trade halts. Its very unfortunate that liberal ideas are dominating the agenda now...

  5. Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Posts
    45,927
    #15
    other countries will retaliate

    If the US won't buy products from China, then China will stop buying treasuries

    at a time when the US badly needs buyers of treasuries

  6. Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Posts
    181
    #16
    Guys, hate to do this but I have to disagree with most of you. What many of you are saying is true IF the US exports more than it imports. Under that scenario, if the US stops buying imported goods, and other countries stops buying US goods, then it will be bad for the US.

    Unfortunately, such is not the case and the figures clearly shows it. The US currently imports more than it exports -- to the tune of a USD 711.6 Billion trade deficit in 2007. On that year, the US imported a total of USD 2.33 Trillion while exports only amounted to USD 1.2 Trillion. The trade imbalance with China alone amounted to USD 17 Billion in favor of China.

    That is why if the US catches a cold, the whole world follows suit. Because most of the countries are dependent on the US market.

    Now, take note that most of the imports are capital goods, industrial supplies and materials, consumer goods, autos and auto parts, food, feed and beverages -- items which the US can make it for itself, at a slightly higher cost, of course.

    So if the US decides on buying things from home instead of importing, it will spurn the US economy and those depending on the US for their exports (such as China and most Asian countries like the Philippines) will definitely suffer.

    So for me, I believe that Obama is on the right track in making the US recover! And of course, it will spell disaster for world trade.

    But the irony is that the US has been "subsidizing" the world economy for so long. Now that they are belt tightening and putting their house in order, the whole world is pointing fingers at them and telling them it is unfair!

  7. Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Posts
    1,985
    #17
    The Buy American plan can help in bringing back jobs to the US that have been exported to other countries. You look at American brands now and where are all these things made? China, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Philippines, etc. Why? Because it's cheaper labor but at the expense of American jobs. If companies continue to export these jobs their largest consumer market will not have any jobs in order to buy these goods. Another forum in which I am a member has had multiple people losing jobs because the company decided to move it's operations to Mexico or China. How does that help the US economy? It doesn't. The manufacturing sector has almost disappeared in his country because every job has been sent someplace else. Hell even answering a phone has been sent to Ireland, Philippines, and India. Are these jobs that would be more expensive to do in the US? Yes, but displacing people out of jobs also will not help the consumer market because there will be less people to consume those goods since they are unemployed. The world may not like it if the US thinks of it's self first in trying to recover from this mess and that is their opinion. If you and everyone in your house was sick with the flu and the same for your neighbors house. Do you try to get your neighbor better first or your own house? No, you take care your family first before even thinking about your neighbor and that is exactly what the US wants to do now.

  8. Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Posts
    9,894
    #18
    Quote Originally Posted by FWC View Post
    Guys, hate to do this but I have to disagree with most of you. What many of you are saying is true IF the US exports more than it imports. Under that scenario, if the US stops buying imported goods, and other countries stops buying US goods, then it will be bad for the US.

    Unfortunately, such is not the case and the figures clearly shows it. The US currently imports more than it exports -- to the tune of a USD 711.6 Billion trade deficit in 2007. On that year, the US imported a total of USD 2.33 Trillion while exports only amounted to USD 1.2 Trillion. The trade imbalance with China alone amounted to USD 17 Billion in favor of China.

    That is why if the US catches a cold, the whole world follows suit. Because most of the countries are dependent on the US market.

    Now, take note that most of the imports are capital goods, industrial supplies and materials, consumer goods, autos and auto parts, food, feed and beverages -- items which the US can make it for itself, at a slightly higher cost, of course.

    So if the US decides on buying things from home instead of importing, it will spurn the US economy and those depending on the US for their exports (such as China and most Asian countries like the Philippines) will definitely suffer.

    So for me, I believe that Obama is on the right track in making the US recover! And of course, it will spell disaster for world trade.

    But the irony is that the US has been "subsidizing" the world economy for so long. Now that they are belt tightening and putting their house in order, the whole world is pointing fingers at them and telling them it is unfair!
    i appreciate the well-thought out answer, but the part you're overlooking is that US production costs are not "slightly higher" than third world (can we still call China that?) production costs.

    i have staff in India. they make less than half the salary of my US staff, and in some cases are higher performing. if i only bought clothes or electronics made in the USA, i would always be paying at least 40-50% more than someone who buys Made in Mexico or China.

    my point is that protectionism is always inefficient. and Obama's plan subsidizes that inefficiency with my tax dollars, which penalizes me two times over.

  9. Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Posts
    181
    #19
    Quote Originally Posted by empy View Post
    ... my point is that protectionism is always inefficient. and Obama's plan subsidizes that inefficiency with my tax dollars, which penalizes me two times over.
    If you are looking at it from the world's viewpoint, I agree. But if you are an American, it makes sense. It's just a matter of "one pocket to the the other."

    Just as an analogy, when I was with an international hotel chain, we have strict instructions to always patronize our hotels which are of the deluxe category, even if they cost two or three as much as other business hotels. Since our executives are always traveling, it affects the bottom line of our hotel. When we questioned this policy, the owner told us, "If you stay at our hotels, sure you lose US$500.00. But our other hotel gains US$500.00. So it's just from one pocket to the other. But if you stay at other hotels and pay even US$200.00, that US$200.00 is gone from our group forever."

  10. Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Posts
    6
    #20
    Obama shouldn't have announced this explicitly. It's true that the trade deficit if very big but announcing this to the world is bad PR whether this is beneficial or not.

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"Buy American" Part of Obama's Stimulus Plan