Made in the USA

[vladimir]

I'm just curious as to why that matters to you? If a good product at a good price is what we are looking for why should it matter where it's made.

Deep Sea Supply makes an excellent product in the US. If someone in Germany can still buy it at a good price why should they not do so because it's not made locally (to them)?

Should they reward a German company making a lesser product at a higher price because it's "keeping" jobs in Germany? (By the way this approach didn't work out so well for Detroit).

Just curious as to your thinking.

I think it's a great question. My thinking is that China throws every possible obstacle to imports from the US that it can. It manipulates its currency, it demands technology transfer as a condition of the purchase of high-tech goods, it steals intellectual property, and it pays its workers slave-labor wages. In Bangalore they burn down Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises to protect the local eateries. In South Korea...on and on and on. It is naive to think that there is a level playing field in global trade--there is free trade only as long as Americans are willing to pour $60 billion a month into other countries coffers--and that game is just about over.

I, for one, get added utility from a product that I know is not contributing to the eventual poverty of the United States.

 

[dmoore19]

I consider where the product is made in all my purchases. I WILL pay more if it is made in the USA if of equal quality! Since it was mentioned earlier, Detroit is now building quality products, not onlly assembled in the US but also with parts made in the US. I WILL buy their products. No sense in biting off your nose to spite your face!

 

[gcbryan]

I think it's a great question. My thinking is that China throws every possible obstacle to US imports that it can. It manipulates it's currency, it demands technology transfer as a condition of the purchase of high-tech goods, it steals intellectual property, and it pays its workers slave-labor wages. In Bangalore they burn down Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises to protect the local eateries. In South Korea...on and on and on. It is naive to think that there is a level playing field in global trade--there is free trade only as long as Americans are willing to pour $60 billion a month into other countries coffers--and that game is just about over.

I, for one, get added utility from a product that I know is not contributing to the eventual poverty of the United States.

There's a difference between "Buy American" and "Buy Chinese". Most of those places don't support free trade yet (eventually it's inevitable). However, supporting the US auto industry did nothing for the purchaser or the industry. Japanese have been the better product at the better price since at least the 80's.

It's not about supporting another country to the detriment of our economy. It's about rewarding the better product and keeping the extra money in the consumers pocket rather than in some other state. An extra $2,000 in my pocket and a better product (car) does more to help my local economy than sending that $2,000 to a worker and his family in Detroit.

If you reward the better product the company will thrive with local and foreign orders. If you reward a local company just for being local that won't happen. A company with an inferior product won't last long anyway just being supported with a "Buy American" attitude.

 

[Sas]

I see where you are going with this and I do want a good product at a good price and if it’s made out of the US ok. But I would like to keep as much of my money in the USA as possible. This doesn’t mean I am anti any other countries product. It just means if I can buy it here I would prefer to. If I find a good deal on something from outside the US I would buy it. I just want to keep as much here as possible

Bye the way this post is not intended to upset anyone.

Actually imports keep jobs in the US, especially intermediate goods, it is too simplistic to assume that imports = bad, exports = good. Trade is not a zero sum game you know?

It is actually interesting to note that imports from places like Asia + India actually stimulate the local economy in the US due to the fact they usually require more downstream processing where as imports from other Western countries can reduce employment in the US, but people tend to complain about Asia + India stealing their jobs and the US's money. Think about that next time you are worried about buying products from overseas

 

[Sas]

There's a difference between "Buy American" and "Buy Chinese". Most of those places don't support free trade yet (eventually it's inevitable). However, supporting the US auto industry did nothing for the purchaser or the industry. Japanese have been the better product at the better price since at least the 80's.

The US is no shining example of a free trade supporter itself...

 

[OldNSalty]

Back to the original topic-I believe the Freedom Plate is 100% American made...unless Eric is one of those sneaky Canadians living here undercover.

And the name, Freedom Plate, it even sounds American...

 

[gcbryan]

The US is no shining example of a free trade supporter itself...

True. Politics and large trade groups interfere here as elsewhere. There are worse offenders however.

 

[Sas]

The more people we can keep working in this country, or get back into the workforce for that matter, the stronger our economy will get.

Not necessarily. It depends whether you are putting workers into jobs where the U.S has a comparative advantage. If you are proping up uncompetitive jobs, then no, the economy will get weaker. Free and open trade is beneficial in nearly every single example to all involved but because the benefits are large but diffuse whilst benefits of propping up uncompetitive and inefficient industries are small but concentrated people don't realise this. When industries are affected by overseas competition, this tends to make the news and therefore raises the public's awareness of the costs that can result from trade. However, the benefits from trade are not immediately obvious. An increase in the competitiveness and efficiency in an industry that has been forced to compete on the world markets, is hard for non-specialists to measure and it rarely gets reported.

Politicians are also vote maximising as well. One way in which they can obtain more votes is to satisfy the interests of their electorate. Therefore, unemployment in a factory in one electorate due to reduced trade protection in the country is to be avoided even if it means that everyone else must suffer a lower real income due to higher prices for goods overall.

So yea, it is not just about getting more people into jobs = better economy. It is about getting more people in to the *right* jobs - where the U.S has a comparative advantage, not just handing out money or trade protection to industries that will never ever be able to compete with overseas. It is also about knowing when it is better to import, where to import from and to buy from overseas.

/rant. The effects of trade protection was my thesis topic, so I find it frustrating to read of people who think it is as simple as buying from their home country when it comes to improving their local economies.

 

[Sas]

True. Politics and large trade groups interfere here as elsewhere. There are worse offenders however.

Of course. But that doesn't mean a thing. Just because there are worse countries doesn't mean that the U.S. should keep doing what it is doing! They certainly tried to screw Australia over in the Australia-US FTA agreement and short term they win, but long term no one wins.

 

[vladimir]

There's a difference between "Buy American" and "Buy Chinese". Most of those places don't support free trade yet (eventually it's inevitable). However, supporting the US auto industry did nothing for the purchaser or the industry. Japanese have been the better product at the better price since at least the 80's.

It's not about supporting another country to the detriment of our economy. It's about rewarding the better product and keeping the extra money in the consumers pocket rather than in some other state. An extra $2,000 in my pocket and a better product (car) does more to help my local economy than sending that $2,000 to a worker and his family in Detroit.

If you reward the better product the company will thrive with local and foreign orders. If you reward a local company just for being local that won't happen. A company with an inferior product won't last long anyway just being supported with a "Buy American" attitude.

Yes, 20 years on Wall Street has me familiar with the chapter and verse of the free trade canon. And I heartily believe in free trade; I just don't see much of it. I picked China because that is where a good portion of our $60 billion a month goes. Japan may be a paragon of free trade now, but it certainly wasn't in the '80s.
Saspotato is correct, free trade is not a zero-sum game. As the economists say, a rising tide floats all boats. What they usually don't say, but is inescapably true, is that with no barriers to technology transfer and capital movement, unfettered free trade will inevitably equalize wage levels. I'm okay with that; I have capital. For those of you who don't, be careful what you wish for.