Buy American and Buy the World

Seems like this is the year of the underdog. I thought it very well might be when the underrated New York Giants not only made it to the Super Bowl but defeated the previously undefeated New England Patriots. Heck, even their coach stated in a press conference that this past year was not going to be a good one and the fans shouldn't get their hopes up. Perhaps it was a psychological means to get his players motivated and to alleviate some of the obvious pressure on the team but whatever it was, it worked. But the Giants weren't the only team to come from behind and score. The recent announcement by the US Air Force to purchase the latest tanker aircraft, henceforth desginated the KC-45A, was a major victory for the underdog team of Northrop Grumman and EADS.

For those unfamiliar with the case, the Air Force had been looking to replace their aging KC-135 tanker aircraft with a newer airframe and had previously awarded a lease contract to Boeing, the manufacturer of the KC-135. The newer airframe being put forth by Boeing was based on their previously successful but not as much so anymore 767 design. In recent years the airframe had been supplanted by newer models that Boeing has been producing as well as increasingly popular Airbus models. Up until now, Airbus hadn't been able to enter the US military market due to restrictions on 'buying American'. Then legislation came to pass which announced that partner nations in Europe and Asia (namely those who could produce products that the military could be interested) would be allowed to compete in the military market. Hence our current situation and hence the cause for some of the banter going back and forth over the fact that the lease was broken with Boeing and the contract recompeted with Northrop Grumman and EADS being declared the new winners.

Now I'm not going to argue the details as to whether or not the ruling was fair or whether Boeing made an arrogant assumption on their part to assume that they would get the contract by default as they are the current manufacturer of the KC-135 airframe. Rather, I want to comment upon the accusations flying back and forth regarding the fact that a European is now catering to an American requirement. According to a lot of the mis-interpreted information flying out there, the award of the contract to a European company means that jobs from America will be going to Europe. Now this is enough to scare anyone considering the economy over here in America isn't on strong feet at the moment but it couldn't be farther from the truth. This tactic of 'buy American or lose your job' no longer holds the same amount of water as it may have a few decades ago.

Look at virtually any of the big companies out there and at least part of the process is in the hands of foreign companies. Don't believe me? Well look into it and you'll find that even if Boeing had won the contract they would have ended up with a plane with vital components coming from both Europe and Asia. However, since Boeing is based in Washington State, the fact that the plane is a compilation of foreign parts as well can be conveniently overlooked. Never mind also that Northrop Grumman is building the plane here in the States and that all sensitive military equipment will be assembled and installed over here in the States; so this talk of 'selling our secrets to Europe' is all for naught. What about Chrysler? You couldn't get more American than Chrysler right? Well they've been partnered with European automaker Daimler for several years now and though there were similar complaints then, it's still no different is it?

Heck even the coffee we drink at Starbucks is from a foreign company. Do you think Starbucks employs American workers in South America and Africa and Asia to pick the coffee beans in their various blends? No of course not and why? Because foreign labor is cheaper and in the end it allows us to pay less for a product than we would if we completely relied on domestic commerce to produce the same products. Companies from Europe and Asia such as Mercedes, BMW and Toyota to name a few, have factories over here in the States because even they've found that it's cheaper for them to make their cars over here rather than shipping them from their parent companies. A result is that these companies have made efforts to promote the fact that while their designs might be foreign in origin, the actual product is put together by American hands yet those with a die hard devotion to cradle to the grave American products are ending up helping promote false ideas of what a foreign product is and isn't.

I am happy that companies such as Airbus are being allowed to compete in the market because as a taxpayer, I see the potential benefit in it. Up until now, tanker aircraft were the sole domain of Boeing and being a veritable monopoly they could charge as they saw fit since there was no other competition. Now that competitors have and will continue to enter such markets, there is the likelihood that not only will prices come down but again there will be a drive to be a bit more fiscally responsible rather than paying the only person in town. Plus we are ensuring that the products we do procure now and in the future are the best value for the dollar. If we weren't interested in that why wouldn't we have produced both versions of the F-35 fighter or so many other pieces of military hardware. Buy American is a good mantra but it doesn't mean quite the same thing as it did when Henry Ford put together his first automobile.