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跟那个stimulus plan一起pass的。要打贸易仗了，可怜的本来很多公司最近就靠着海外市场，这下子热闹了，难怪GE一下子-5%...
大萧条的时候也是搞贸易壁垒把形势搞得更严峻的
'Buy American' stimulus alarms US businesses, trade partners14 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AFP) — A "Buy American" drive in President BarackObama's economic stimulus plan is sparking protests from businesses andtrading partners, and drawing cheers from domestic manufacturers andunions.
Obama is pushing Congress for swift passage of theAmerican Recovery and Reinvestment Act as vital to prevent the collapseof the fragile US economy amid the accelerating global financial crisis.
TheHouse of Representatives passed an 819 billion dollar version of theeconomic stimulus package Wednesday that contains a "Buy American"provision generally barring the purchase of foreign iron and steel forany stimulus-funded infrastructure project.
The massive stimulusplan of tax cuts and spending has moved to the Senate, where lawmakersare working on their own version that extends the "Buy American"initiative on iron and steel to include all US manufactured goods.
Thebulk of Obama's stimulus package is infrastructure spending targeted toensure the country's long-term competitiveness in the global economy.
Thesweep of infrastructure projects is broad, from roads, rail, bridges,airports and dams to military construction and housing, among others.
Obama argues the expensive stimulus package, supported by unions, could save or create more than three million jobs.
Leadingbusiness interests warned that such measures could trigger trade warsthat only will exacerbate the slump in trade volumes and economicgrowth stemming from the financial turmoil.
"Since 95 percent ofthe world's consumers live outside the United States, American workerswould be the first to suffer as 'Buy American' provisions triggerretaliation by other countries -- that is, 'Buy German,' 'Buy Chinese,'and so on," said Chris Braddock of the US Chamber of Commerce.
"Wecertainly aren't against companies and governments 'Buying American,'but we are against the government arbitrarily mandating such arequirement, because it would harm our economy in numerous ways,"Braddock said, citing the trade wars that eventually sparked the GreatDepression.
"The Chamber is absolutely committed to avoiding a replay of that disaster," he said.
TheHouse's "Buy American" provision bars spending on any infrastructureproject "unless all of the iron and steel used in the project isproduced in the United States."
Exceptions would include theunavailability of a sufficient quantity of satisfactory quality of theUS metals and if their inclusion would raise the overall project's costby more than 25 percent.
The "Buy American" provision in theHouse-approved bill raised hackles in Canada, the United States'sbiggest trading partner, as well as in Europe.
"We want to avoid protectionism in this economic slowdown," said Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Itis a "serious concern to us," he said, and so "we're joining with allcountries in the world to insist that the United States respect its WTO(World Trade Organization) commitments."
Under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Canada sells about 40 percent of its steel to its southern neighbor.
Harperintends to broach the "Buy American" issue with Obama when the USpresident visits Ottawa on February 19, Canadian Industry Minister TonyClement said.
A European Union spokesman said it was premature totake a stance on a text that had not yet been seen but "if a bill ispassed which prohibits the sale or purchase of European goods onAmerican territory, that is something we will not stand idly by andignore."
There was no immediate reaction from China, another major steel producer.
Obama,who criticized international trade agreements, including NAFTA, in hispresidential campaign, has wasted no time in taking a tough stance ontrade since taking office on January 20.
The next day, the Obamaadministration branded China a currency manipulator, setting the stagefor a trade war with the Asian giant which has overtaken Japan asAmerica's biggest foreign creditor.
"It's time for economicpatriots to stand up in our country. We need to ensure that our lawsare aggressively implemented to ensure that American taxpayer dollarsare used to put Americans back to work and help renew our economy,"said Leo Gerard, head of the United Steelworkers union which supportsthe "Buy America" campaign.
Kevin Kearns, president of the USBusiness and Industry Council, said a stimulus bill that lacks strict"Buy American" provisions "will only encourage ever more consumption offoreign goods with borrowed foreign money -- which helped producetoday's economic crisis in the first place." |
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发表于 2009-1-30 03:28 PM
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