• If you are having problems logging in please use the Contact Us in the lower right hand corner of the forum page for assistance.

'Buy American' stimulus plan riles trade partners

A

Anonymous

Guest
The past 20 years of sell out of our "sovereignty" now means we can't designate that US taxpapers taxdollars being spent on US projects to stimulate the US economy be made with materials and products "Made in the US".... :roll: :( :( :mad:

Sad day- what Clinton/Bush have done to our countries abilities to make its own decisions- or support our OWN country, producers, and industry....

I hope Obama/Congress stand strong and tell all these foreign trade outfits to go take a flying ****.....

'Buy American' stimulus plan riles trade partners
1 hour ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) — A new "Buy American" push in President Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan is sparking protests about protectionism from US trading partners.

Passage of the 819 billion dollar economic stimulus package Wednesday by the US House of Representatives raised hackles in Europe and Canada, the United States's biggest trading partner.

Obama has pushed for swift passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as vital to prevent the collapse of the US economy, reeling from the global financial crisis that has thwarted governments' unprecedented actions to ease the turmoil.

The legislation's package of tax cuts and spending has moved to the Senate, where lawmakers are working on their own version of the plan.

The bulk of the bill's spending is aimed at bringing aging infrastructure into the 21st century to preserve and improve the country's long-term competitiveness in the global economy, creating millions of jobs in the process.

The sweep of projects is broad, from roads, rail, bridges, airports and dams to military construction and housing, among others.

The House-approved plan's "Buy American" provision generally prohibits the purchase of foreign iron and steel for any infrastructure project in the bill.

The European Union's trade commissioner, Catherine Ashton, pre-emptively voiced concern about the US measure.

"We are looking into the situation. ... Before we have the final text ... it would be premature to take a stance on it," Ashton's spokesman, Peter Power, said in Brussels.

"However, the one thing we can be absolutely certain about, is if a bill is passed which prohibits the sale or purchase of European goods on American territory, that is something we will not stand idly by and ignore," he said.

Canada's government said it is concerned about US protectionism in the economic stimulus and its diplomats were lobbying US makers against the "Buy American" drive.

"We're always concerned when there are protectionist pressures in the United States," Industry Minister Tony Clement told public broadcaster CBC.

"At the same time the United States has treaty obligations," he said, citing US membership in the World Trade Organization and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

"And we expect the United States to live up to its treaty obligations of open and fair trade."

About 40 percent of Canadian steel is sold in the United States and Canada imports steel from its southern neighbor.

Clement said Canadian diplomats have been lobbying US lawmakers "to try to persuade them to take that clause out or soften it or at least not make it any tougher in the days ahead."

Prime Minister Stephen Harper also plans to bring up the controversial clause in talks with Obama when he visits Ottawa on February 19, he said.

The "Buy American" provision bars spending on any infrastructure project "unless all of the iron and steel used in the project is produced in the United States."


There would be exceptions if the head of the federal department or agency determines that applying the provision "would be inconsistent with the public interest."

Other exceptions would be made if there was an insufficient quantity of US iron and steel of satisfactory quality available and if inclusion of US iron and steel would raise the overall project's cost by more than 25 percent.

Italian Trade Minister Adolfo Urso warned Monday as the US legislation was being developed: "A dangerous new steel war is looming and we need to counter it with strong and decisive actions."

A European familiar with an EU trade commissioner dinner held the same day said that "one or two delegations signaled that the US recovery package contains seeds of a new steel dispute."

Obama, who criticized international trade agreements, including NAFTA, in his presidential campaign, has wasted no time in taking a tough stance on the trade front since taking office on January 20.

The next day, the Obama administration branded China a currency manipulator, setting the stage for a trade war with the Asian giant which has overtaken Japan as America's biggest foreign creditor.
 

Big Muddy rancher

Well-known member
From what I heard is that the Cat layoffs were in part due to China canceling orders because of the Buy American provision. They wouldn't buy Cat if Cat couldn't buy China. :?
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Big Muddy rancher said:
From what I heard is that the Cat layoffs were in part due to China canceling orders because of the Buy American provision. They wouldn't buy Cat if Cat couldn't buy China. :?

Tell China they can keep all their inferior and tainted products then...We should have shut them all down after all the deaths and injuries anyway if GW would have had any balls....

Nothing in the law restricts Cat from buying from China--they just can't get and use US taxpayer money to do it...
 

Tam

Well-known member
Oldtimer said:
Big Muddy rancher said:
From what I heard is that the Cat layoffs were in part due to China canceling orders because of the Buy American provision. They wouldn't buy Cat if Cat couldn't buy China. :?

Tell China they can keep all their inferior and tainted products then...We should have shut them all down after all the deaths and injuries anyway if GW would have had any balls....


Hey Oldtimer could this be why the US can't just tell China to take a flying ******. :wink:
China passed Japan to become the U.S. government's largest foreign creditor in September,
China's new status -- it now owns nearly $1 out of every $10 in U.S. public debt -- means Washington will be increasingly forced to rely on Beijing as it seeks to raise money to cover the cost of a $700 billion bailout. China, in fact, may be the government's largest creditor, period. The Treasury does not keep records on domestic bond holders. But analysts said China's holdings are so vast that the existence of a larger stakeholder in the United States now seems unlikely.
 

Mike

Well-known member
These folks better go back and look at what happened after the Smoot-Hawley Act.

Protectionism helped to perpetuate the depression.

All in all though, we do need to get our trade imbalance quite a bit more balanced.
 

Tam

Well-known member
Mike said:
These folks better go back and look at what happened after the Smoot-Hawley Act.

Protectionism helped to perpetuate the depression.

All in all though, we do need to get our trade imbalance quite a bit more balanced.

So what are you saying that Oldtimer and his Dems better think twice before telling your foreign traders to go take a Flying **** when they have a down turn in the US economy especially when they own 1/10 of your worth. :?
 

Mike

Well-known member
Tam said:
Mike said:
These folks better go back and look at what happened after the Smoot-Hawley Act.

Protectionism helped to perpetuate the depression.

All in all though, we do need to get our trade imbalance quite a bit more balanced.

So what are you saying that Oldtimer and his Dems better think twice before telling your foreign traders to go take a Flying **** when they have a down turn in the US economy especially when they own 1/10 of your worth. :?

What I'm saying is that when you start restricting imports from other countries, they will reciprocate and not buy your goods.

It's a Lose - Lose situation. This has to be looked at very carefully.
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
The past 20 years of sell out of our "sovereignty" now means we can't designate that US taxpapers taxdollars being spent on US projects to stimulate the US economy be made with materials and products "Made in the US".... Rolling Eyes Sad Sad Mad

Whatcha gonna build that doesn't take water, oil, electricity, natural gas and lumber from Canada?

Wyerhauser just shut down 2 plants in Washington!
 

Tam

Well-known member
hypocritexposer said:
The past 20 years of sell out of our "sovereignty" now means we can't designate that US taxpapers taxdollars being spent on US projects to stimulate the US economy be made with materials and products "Made in the US".... Rolling Eyes Sad Sad Mad

Whatcha gonna build that doesn't take water, oil, electricity, natural gas and lumber from Canada?

Wyerhauser just shut down 2 plants in Washington!

I have to laugh at people that think the US can go it alone. One example I remember when the Power when out up and down the East Coast of the US in about 2003 . Guess who got blamed. Canada why because that is where the electricity was coming from. Was it Canada's fault no because somebody flipped the wrong switch in the US and over loaded the system and it went down. But hey the US can go it along. :wink:
 

don

Well-known member
ot if your industry isn't competitive maybe you should be sourcing elsewhere. protectionism isn't going to make it more efficient. that thirty year worker for caterpillar on cnn seemed to think it was important to be able to export fifty per cent of their production.
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
We should have shut them all down after all the deaths and injuries anyway if GW would have had any balls....

What would happen to the American economy if other countries shut down american imports evertime someone died in the US due to ecoli etc.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
I have nothing against trade-- but when for 15 years you put emphasis on allowing all your industry to move out of the nation- where they can produce much cheaper because they don't have the standards or oversight- and don't require these imports to meet the standards you allow a situation to develop where US industry/products can't compete...

Its just like M-COOL...How do you compete when your own government is fighting you being able to identify your product to consumers from the cheaper imports- some of which come from countries of low health and safety standards...

I'm sure if we told China we was stopping taking their toys until they could prove they were lead free-- and any of their food products until they could guarantee it all melamine free-and began requiring every product/packaged to be individually inspected and tested--it wouldn't be long until they'd be buying Cats for their country....

You Canucks forget- Remember how for 15 years you had an artificial trade barrier on US cattle "ALL US CATTLE ARE DISEASED"--that for years the US tried to convince you that you were wrong- but Canada wouldn't budge...
But the minute Canadian producers got their teat in a wringer with the BSE- couldn't export anywhere- and was trying to get US producers to back up allowing in questionable Canadian beef--VIOLA- miracles occurred- and all of sudden these US cattle weren't so diseased afterall :roll: :wink: :lol:

Our government has sat back for 15-20 years and allowed the US worker/businessman get the sh*tty end of the stick involving trade--and its one of the reasons the economy is in dire straits....
Its time to put our foots down and stop it... We have emergency times and wheres China going to market all their crapola if they can't sell it here...They know that too.....They don't want a trade war....

US taxpayers stimulus dollars should be spent on US products....
 

Sandhusker

Well-known member
Mike said:
Tam said:
Mike said:
These folks better go back and look at what happened after the Smoot-Hawley Act.

Protectionism helped to perpetuate the depression.

All in all though, we do need to get our trade imbalance quite a bit more balanced.

So what are you saying that Oldtimer and his Dems better think twice before telling your foreign traders to go take a Flying **** when they have a down turn in the US economy especially when they own 1/10 of your worth. :?

What I'm saying is that when you start restricting imports from other countries, they will reciprocate and not buy your goods.

It's a Lose - Lose situation. This has to be looked at very carefully.

Look at our trade balance, I'd say the reciprocating has been going on for quite some time. We have to do something. There is no way that we can continue to run the trade deficits that we have.
 

jodywy

Well-known member
Sandhusker said:
Mike said:
Tam said:
So what are you saying that Oldtimer and his Dems better think twice before telling your foreign traders to go take a Flying **** when they have a down turn in the US economy especially when they own 1/10 of your worth. :?

What I'm saying is that when you start restricting imports from other countries, they will reciprocate and not buy your goods.

It's a Lose - Lose situation. This has to be looked at very carefully.

Look at our trade balance, I'd say the reciprocating has been going on for quite some time. We have to do something. There is no way that we can continue to run the trade deficits that we have.
Trade war... we don't produce enough coffee , or bananas :cry:
 

aplusmnt

Well-known member
Went to a seminar once on getting government contracts. One of the questions I asked was, "did Kansas give special consideration to in state bidders" ? The guy explained that no they did not, and we would not want to start doing that because other neighboring states would do the same.

You have to be careful starting to set rules in stone! As Americans it would be good to try to buy American, but as a President you can not go and be so bold as to ban purchases from other countries.

I respect the thought, but he should be careful on starting something he may not like in the end!
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
I guess Montanans are more Americans than Kansans are then...Both when I was with the school district and with the counties - we had "buy local" policies....If we could buy products/service providers from local providers we would pay up to a certain percentage more (I believe it was up to 25%- depending on value)....
We felt the taxpayers paying for it should also get a chance to benefit from their taxdollars....
Thats exctly what this "Buy American" plan does...
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
Yes and the rest of the world has a "buy American" campaign also, they own most of the debt through securities, and a good chunk of the banks!

If Iran, Russia, and China get their way, they will have a new base currency within a year or two, and Obama will have fallen right into their hands.

I suppose you deal at your local TD bank also?
 

aplusmnt

Well-known member
Oldtimer said:
I guess Montanans are more Americans than Kansans are then...Both when I was with the school district and with the counties - we had "buy local" policies....If we could buy products/service providers from local providers we would pay up to a certain percentage more (I believe it was up to 25%- depending on value)....
We felt the taxpayers paying for it should also get a chance to benefit from their taxdollars....
Thats exctly what this "Buy American" plan does...

Buying local is different than only taking local bids on large contracts. Sure I imagine lots of schools and country offices try to buy local when they need a couple hundred dollars in groceries at a grocery store.

Limiting contracts and bids to only in state contractors is a whole other story. I doubt your school or county did not allow out of state bids or go with higher ones just to get local.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Heres an e-mail I received today- goes along with using taxpayer dollars to buy US products made by LEGAL US workers....

Start today to fight for Senate victory next week on E-Verify

When Roy notified you Thursday that we had won a big victory on E-Verify in the U.S. House-passed Economic Stimulus package, he said we would be back to you soon about the next battle. This is it. Please start sending faxes to your Senators to make sure that they also include language to keep Stimulus jobs from going to illegal foreign workers.

The version of the Senate bill currently does not contain any E-Verify amendments, but on Thursday there was bi-partisan support when Senators Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Jeff Sessions (R-AL) urged Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to add the amendments to the bill.

Now, we need your action! Visit your Action Buffet Corkboard to find faxes to send to your Senators asking them to join Senators Nelson and Sessions in the fight to get E-Verify added to the Senate bill.

With so many Americans losing their jobs, it's important that your tax dollars not be spent on employing millions of foreign workers, but instead ensure that jobs created by the stimulus package go to American citizens.
 
Top