"Buy American" Part of Obama's Stimulus Plan

[Jun aka Pekto]

Obama's stimulus plan includes "Buy American". For those here in the US who voted for Obama, are you going to heed his call? Will you trade in your imports for American cars? By the way, American cars are those made by the Big 3, not the transplanted imports.

Me? I voted for McCain. I think I'll keep my Hyundai. Hee Hee

[za-ebees]

I agree with that. The trade deficit is big.

[tidus1203]

I was always saying that while Obama is a good man I am sure his way of dealing with the crisis is faulty. Not just Obama, the democrats in general. Look at the massive spending bill they are proposing. A huge chunk of it is not even stimulative. Things like more funds for stem cell research etc. I stand in my belief that the US will be worse in the long run under the Obama adminstration, they are legislating PORK and not legislating stimulus. But its so popular. People have a tendency to ask BIG GOVERNMENT for help if they can't help themselves. And this protectionist behavior won't help to stimulate the economy at all in the long run. It will just create trade wars.

[Jun aka Pekto]

Me, I probably will buy American too when it's time to replace our current cars. Overall, I've bought more American cars than imports.

But, will these Obama voters follow through as well?

[empy]

i didn't vote for Obama for him to legislate my spending habits. but i'm happy to buy American where American industry is competitive - education, wine, entertainment, finance and retail to name a few.

as for cars they need to make compelling, competitive cars to get my business. although the new Camaro and Challenger are a step in the right direction.

[actor21]

OT:si GMA naman buy Filipino since walang kotse na 100% filipino so i bought a Mazda 3 hehehe..maski maka honda at toyota in general ang mga pinoys...nag mazda 3 padin ako
para tangkilikin ang gawa sa pinas:

siempre me mga honda din na dito assembled sa atin like City

[uls]

Buy American?

it screams protectionism

and Geithner says China is manipulating its currency... that the yuan should be stronger... at a time when China is trying to weaken its currency

everyone is looking after themselves now

trade wars are on the horizon

and beyond the horizon, real wars

[CVT]

Me? I voted for McCain. I think I'll keep my Hyundai. Hee Hee

OT:

Bro.,- McCain is from AZ (by marriage), right? And, he is a Navy war "hero" (Vietnam War)?.... Hhmmmm...

And earlier on, he defended a Filipino Navy personnel in a mess hall, when he was being bullied by an American....

7404:laundry:

[tidus1203]

BERLIN - US President Barack Obama came under pressure on Tuesday to resist protectionism in reaction to the global economic crisis as top companies announced massive losses and protests broke out in Europe.
"We must avoid protectionism," German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters when asked about a "Buy American" clause to promote US products in Obama's 888-billion-dollar (683-billion-euro) economic stimulus plan.
"Protectionism is the wrong answer" to the economic crisis, she added.
The German leader's comments came after a similar warning in a speech in Tokyo by the head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who said: "Beggar thy neighbour policies will never give a good result."
There is growing concern among economists that some of the anti-crisis measures being implemented by governments to save jobs and aid ailing industries are contributing to a new wave of protectionism around the world.
Adding to pressure for more state intervention, companies in Asia, Europe and the United States announced further losses and job cuts as the recession bites deeper into some of the world's leading economies.
Mats Jansson, the head of Scandinavian carrier SAS, called his company's 2008 results "horrifying" after they showed a net loss of 760 million dollars (590 million euros) and will lead to thousands of job losses.
British oil giant BP reported a 24-percent slide in fourth-quarter net profit because of the sharp fall in oil prices and Swedish truckmaker Scania said its profits in the last three months of 2008 had fallen by 44 percent.
Japanese high-tech giant Hitachi, which is slashing up to 7,000 jobs, meanwhile reported a 4.0-billion-dollar net loss for the nine months to December as the global slowdown crushes demand for electronic goods.
US giant Dow Chemical reported a 1.55-billion-dollar loss last quarter.
There was evidence too of growing social discontent in parts of Europe, with farmers in recession-hit Latvia taking to the streets to demand state aid and British refinery workers striking against the hiring of foreign workers.
The fallout from the crisis meanwhile led to another sharp rise in unemployment in Spain in January, cementing its position as the country with the highest jobless rate in the European Union.
And Brazil became the latest once-buoyant emerging economy developing to record a heavy fall in industrial output caused in part by the deepening recession in key export markets in Europe, Japan and the United States.
Leading governments also redoubled efforts to prop up their economies.
Australia unveiled a 26-billion-dollar plan in what Prime Minister Kevin Rudd termed a "national and international economic emergency" and Sweden said it could inject up to 6.0 billion dollars into its troubled banking system.
After vowing to help Italy's struggling auto industry, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said the government would also assist the domestic appliance sector and shore up consumer credit after criticism from the opposition.
And in Japan, the central bank said it would spend up to one trillion yen (11.2 billion dollars, 8.6 billion euros) to buy shares held by commercial banks to ease the credit crunch in Asia's biggest economy.
But the attention of investors was still very much focused on Obama's controversial plan to kick-start the world's largest economy. US senators are currently analyzing the bill and could vote on it later this week.
"I don't think we ought to use a measure that is supposed to be timely, temporary, and targeted to set off trade wars," Senate Republican minority leader Mitch McConnell told reporters in response to European criticism.
The White House has said that the contested "Buy American" clause -- aimed at ensuring only US products such as steel and manufactured goods are used on projects aimed at reviving the economy -- is still under review.
In market news, the euro dipped against the dollar amid mounting expectations of lower eurozone interest rates and Wall Street was up as investors weighed progress on the government's stimulus plan.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/...crisis-deepens

[tidus1203]

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...

[bambino]

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.

[safeorigin]

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?