“Buy American” and loose the world!

“Buy American” patriotism is worse than 9/11 jingoism. The election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America is partly a consequence of the over-reaction of the 9/11 patriotism by candidates like Rudy Giuliani . The world couldn’t wait to see the departure of George W Bush. Candidate Obama became the rock-star in Europe and around the world. The 9/11 jingoism did not impact America materially as much as it did diplomatically. Outsourcing grew in leaps and bounds because of the restrictions on H-1B visas and limitations on immigration in general. This over-reaction also resulted in a war of choice (Iraq invasion) that escalated into a trillion dollar nightmare. “Buy American” patriotism could be 20-30 times more expensive! Americans have no idea how good they have had so far.

Burton Gordon Malkiel of Princeton University has written a simple straightforward article in The Wall Street Journal on February 5, 2009, “Congress Wants a Trade War” and there is very little left to add to it! Having said that, it is important to refresh the memory and ponder over the history of American trade in the 18th and 19th centuries and the eventual outcome of those forward looking policies. Trade for the United States was critical for the quality of life for its citizens and in some ways its national security. In the early days after independence, the United States did substantial trade and business with Europe and Asia. ‘Sea Piracy’ posed a serious problem for the American cargo ships and paying ransom to the pirates was a cheaper solution. The United States leadership decided to face the threat head-on and embarked on developing its naval power. This decision resulted in not only curbing the sea piracy but America becoming a formidable ‘Naval Power’ of the 20th century.