–- Diana Furchtgott-Roth, former chief economist at the U.S. Department of Labor, is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. The views expressed are her own. –-
When Congress inserted “Buy America” protectionist provisions that required some goods (such as steel, cement, and textiles) financed by the stimulus bill to be made in America, our government invited a trade war with important economic partners. Now China and Canada are imposing their own protectionist regulations, potentially destroying well-paid American jobs in the export sector. Other countries may follow suit.
This week China reported that the government now requires stimulus projects to use domestic suppliers when possible, even though in February it promised to treat foreign companies equally. The Chinese $585 billion stimulus package has resulted in a World Bank growth forecast of 7.2% for China this year, far above other industrialized countries.
And on June 6 the delegates at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities passed a resolution calling on “local infrastructure projects, including environmental projects such as water and wastewater treatment projects, [to] procure goods and materials required for the projects only from companies whose countries of origin do not impose trade restrictions against goods and materials manufactured in Canada.”
The tragic losers of “Buy America” are free trade agreements and potential job growth in the American economy. Seductively, "Buy America" promises workers they can have it all — cheap goods from China, oil from Canada, as well as protection from global competition. But real life just doesn't work that way. In reality, "Buy America" is shorthand for fewer jobs as other countries retaliate.
