Buy American/Hire American policies will backfire

21 Sep 2009

Speakers: John Donvan, Jagdish Bhagwati, Douglas Irwin, John R MacArthur, Susan C Schwab, Leo W Gerard, Jeff Madrick

Any project funded by President Obama's $789 billion stimulus package of February 2009 is meant to use only US made steel and manufactured goods. Any financial institution receiving bail out funds must give preference to citizens. Will these policies backfire? Opponents say these policies will have little direct impact on job creation, and could have very harmful repercussions by triggering a global trade war in which each country seeks to “beggar its neighbour” in a vicious cycle of economic decline.

Proponents argue that these policies focus taxpayer money to yield the biggest benefit for American families, that they help American business to compete with cheap foreign labor, and that governments the world over already favor their domestic industries. Are we subsidising the inefficient, or sparking a much needed boost to the economy?

John Donvan

Correspondent for ABC News
Jagdish Bhagwati

Professor, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
Douglas Irwin

Robert E Maxwell Professor of Arts and Sciences, Department of Economics, Darmouth College
John R MacArthur

President and Publisher, Harper’s Magazine
Susan C Schwab

Professor, School of Public Policy, University of Maryland
Leo W Gerard

International President of the United Steelworkers
Jeff Madrick

Editor, Challenge Magazine