GE, Caterpillar Fight ‘Buy American’ Rule in Stimulus

[radfringe]

GE, Caterpillar Fight ‘Buy American’ Rule in Stimulus (Update2)
By Mark Drajem

Jan. 22 (Bloomberg) -- General Electric Co. and Caterpillar Inc. are among U.S. exporters that oppose “Buy American” provisions in the $825 billion stimulus legislation, saying it might spark a trade war.

The companies say that proposals pushed by companies such as U.S. Steel Corp. and Nucor Corp. to limit spending in the stimulus plan to American-made iron and steel risk igniting retaliation from other countries.

“You would be creating an ample basis for countries to close their markets to U.S. products,” said Karan Bhatia, GE’s senior counsel for international law in Washington, in an interview. Fairfield, Connecticut-based GE, the world’s biggest maker of jet engines and locomotives, gets half its sales from outside the U.S.

The fight presents a dilemma for President Barack Obama, who must balance demands from unions and Democrats to protect American jobs against the threat that the Buy American measure would spark protectionist measures by other countries that might deepen a global recession.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Emergency Committee for American Trade in Washington and other business groups warned of that possibility in a letter today to congressional leaders such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

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off the top of my head - I'd rather see tariffs/duties imposed on imports, this would include products made by "american companies", but are manufactured outside our borders.

Give an incentive (tax cut/tax credit) for every NEW job created and filled by an american in our country. Impose a job export fee for every job lost in the US and moved outside of the country.

American Jobs for Americans....

[Vincardog]

1. Don't just "Buy American", Make any company that gets any stimulus money Get Rid of their H1Bs

and replace them with American workers.

That is the solution to our economic crisis

Put Americans to work at living wages
Pass Universal Single Payer health care

How to pay for it?

TAX THE RICH
TAX the Corporations Give them an AMT of 10%

[OhioChick]

2. 100% in Agreement. n/t

[Deja Q]

10. American jobs = wages to tax = bills and debt get paid back.

Is it really that simple or am I in La-La land sucking Po and getting Tipsy having licked Tinky-Winky?!

[ChromeFoundry]

11. LMAO...

:rofl:

[bushmeister0]

3. How about Caterpiller stops selling bulldozers to the IDF, and then we'll talk?

I found this little tidbit in the NYT the other day of interest.

". . . The areas where Israeli tanks and artillery poured in at the start of the ground war are devastated: Juhr el Dik to the east, Beit Lahiya, El Atatra and sections of Jabaliya to the north, as well as the outer Gaza City neighborhoods of Zeitoun and Toufah.

Homes have been blown up or bulldozed, their squashed furniture visible beneath layers of collapsed concrete."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/world/middleeast/25mideast.html?_r=1

That's good old Caterpiller at work again. Let's ask Rachel Corrie's family what they think of Caterpiller's international business practices.

[roody]

7. The bulldozers are specially made to destroy homes.

[Azlady]

4. "You would be creating an ample basis for countries to close their markets to U.S. products,”

Good, let them close off their markets to the U.S. You know what, we are already struggling, we might as well just bite the bullet, pull ourselves *USA* up by the boot straps and become what we use to be! WE ARE HARD WORKING AMERICANS! I am TIRED of hearing about American's being lazy workers, over paid, blah, blah, blah! It is ALL a bunch of SHIT being pushed by the big Corporations. I'm in a bad mood, sorry!

[Vincardog]

5. Them closing their markets to What products? WTF do we make anymore?

[tritsofme]

6. We are always either the #1 or #2 exporter globally.

So we must be making some stuff.

[Vincardog]

8. OK other than War material what do we make here?

[OhioChick]

9. War material and "Hanes" socks.

That's about it....unless Hanes now makes their socks elsewhere.

[Elwood P Dowd]

12. We export our metal, paper, and plastic trash

to be recycled in China where they turn it into Wal Mart products and then ship back to us.

[ProfessorGAC]

16. The Chemical Industry Too

Lots of things made by the chem industry are exported, even to Europe, even though the EU and UK have large chemical industries.

There are specialty or patent protected items that are container shipped around the world on a routine basis.
GAC

[tritsofme]

14. Union workers have good paying jobs

making "war materials" among other things.

You seem to write them off pretty quickly.

[RB TexLa]

13. Yes, by all means Congress, let's pretend we are isolated in the world

and are not part of the world economy we are trying collectively with other nations and political organizations to revive.

That will work. :sarcasm:

[lostnfound]

15. This thread needs an update with the Caterpillar announcement of 20K job cuts.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3706825

[ProfessorGAC]

17. Good Point

Also, there's a Cat plant 18 miles from my house. Back when i graduated from HS, some folks went there to work for $12 to $14 per hour. That was in 1973 and 1974.

Now, the starting salary there is, yep you guessed it, $12 per hour. There are some long tenured employees who make a lot more than that, but after 35 years, this company is paying the same starting salary for shop floor employees. And they need to lay people off.

This is a sure financial indicator of poor strategic planning. If they are still paying people 1973 wages and still have to lay folks off, it's obvious the management has no clue as to how to run a business.
GAC

[tjwash]

18. The Cat plant here in San Diego used to be a customer of mine.

They employ tons of temps from places like "Volt" and keep them on for years as temps/contractors. That way they get away with having to actually pay any bennies as well.

Meanwhile the execs and ceo salaries have gone through the freaking roof, and they get a fucking bailout bonus to boot...

[ProfessorGAC]

19. Thanks. That's Validates My Opinion

It isn't just me then. You've seen the exact same thing.

GAC