Free Republic

Could William Lamb have predicted this? In March 2009, Orlando's nationally syndicated astrologer married Jehan Salih, a much-younger woman from the Philippines he met online, and eventually brought her to live with him in his downtown condo. What happened next varies greatly depending on who's telling the story: Salih claims Lamb abused her and essentially made her a prisoner in their home. Lamb claims his new bride threatened to cut off his penis and kill him. For her part, 31-year-old Salih says — in court documents — that Lamb wouldn't allow her leave the condo, wouldn't let her walk across...

What Are the Top American-Made Cars? Cars.com's American-Made Index rates vehicles built and bought in the U.S. Factors include sales, where the car's parts come from and whether the car is assembled in the U.S. We disqualify models with a domestic parts content rating below 75 percent, models built exclusively outside the U.S. or models soon to be discontinued without a U.S.-built successor. Rank Make/Model U.S. Assembly Location Last Rank 1. Toyota Camry Georgetown, Ky.; Lafayette, Ind. 1 2. Honda Accord Marysville, Ohio; Lincoln, Ala. 2 3. Chevrolet Malibu Kansas City, Kan. 5 4. Ford Explorer Chicago — 5. Honda...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- The photograph on Home Depot's website shows a line of smiling soldiers unloading a truck stacked with power tools and other company wares. The company says this shows "federal dollars go farther at The Home Depot." San Francisco Attorney Paul Scott says the photo also shows the company providing Chinese-made products in violation of the Buy American Act, and the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating. A federal judge in April refused Home Depot Inc.'s bid to toss a whistleblower lawsuit Scott and other attorneys filed against the Atlanta-based company. Now the country's largest home improvement...

Beware or buy American!

New federal guidelines say thousands of U.S. homes tainted by Chinese drywall won't be safe unless they are completely gutted.The Consumer Product Safety Commission released the guidelines Friday. They say electrical wiring, outlets, circuit breakers, fire alarm systems, carbon monoxide alarms, fire sprinklers, gas pipes and drywall must be removed.About 3,000 homeowners, mostly in Florida, Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana, have reported problems with the Chinese-made drywall. A large quantity of the drywall was imported during the housing boom and after a string of Gulf Coast hurricanes. It has been linked to corrosion of wiring, air conditioning units, computers, doorknobs...

Earlier today, Doug Bandow weighed in with some commentary on the problems that Buy American provisions are creating for both Canadian and American businesses. Let me reinforce his view that such rules are anachronistic and self-defeating with some thoughts from a forthcoming paper of mine about the incongruity between modern commercial reality and trade policies that have failed to keep pace. Even though President Obama implored, “If you are considering buying a car, I hope it will be an American car,” it is nearly impossible to determine objectively what makes an American car. The auto industry provides a famous example,...

Federal government purchases make up about 20% of the U.S. economy, yet the United States is almost alone among the major developed nations and China in not having a significant "buy domestic" government procurement program. No single economic stimulus initiative would do more in the short and long term to resuscitate U.S. employment, especially manufacturing employment, and to materially reduce our economy-zapping massive trade deficit than a fair "buy American" program. However, when even a fairly limited program was put forward in February as part of the economic stimulus plan, you would have thought that protectionist cowboys from the U.S....

After a "Buy American" provision in the stimulus bill triggered a tit-for-tat with Canada, President Obama is warning fellow Democrats to think twice about another "protectionist" measure in the House-passed climate change bill. The climate bill that passed the House last week on a 219-212 vote includes a provision to impose tariffs -- starting in 2020 -- on imports from countries that don't have a system for limiting global warming pollution. The provision was pushed as a way to keep the U.S. competitive with other countries that haven't imposed rules to reduce carbon emissions and promote clean energy.

Autopsies have revealed fractures in the legs, hips and arms of Air France disaster victims, injuries that — coupled with the large pieces of wreckage pulled from the Atlantic — strongly suggest the plane broke up in the air, experts said Wednesday. With more than 400 bits of debris recovered from the ocean's surface, the top French investigator expressed optimism about discovering what brought down Flight 447, but he also called the conditions — far from land in very deep waters — "one of the worst situations ever known in an accident investigation." French investigators are beginning to form "an...

Fear of the Administration’s drive toward a more protectionist American economy has gone global. Brazil, Japan, Australia, the European Union, and Canada are voicing concerns over the Buy American policy. Canada, who sends 75 percent of its exports to America and owns half of GM and Chrysler, has already had measures of retaliation of U.S products

When he voted for the Obama stimulus, Arlen Specter effectively signed the pink slips for 600 jobs in Pennsylvania. From the Canadian Press: As many as 600 steelworkers in Pennsylvania, whose union lobbied for the Buy America law, are slated to lose their jobs at Duferco Farrell after the company lost orders from its biggest customer because some of its goods are partly produced abroad.

Is this what the first trade war of the global economic crisis looks like? Ordered by Congress to "buy American" when spending money from the $787 billion stimulus package, the town of Peru, Ind., stunned its Canadian supplier by rejecting sewage pumps made outside of Toronto. After a Navy official spotted Canadian pipe fittings in a construction project at Camp Pendleton, Calif., they were hauled out of the ground and replaced with American versions. In recent weeks, other Canadian manufacturers doing business with U.S. state and local governments say they have been besieged with requests to sign affidavits pledging that...

The government hath spoken–and declared it safe to buy an American-made car. By vowing to honor the warranties for cars built by General Motors and Chrysler, the Obama administration has removed a bit of the stigma associated with the two troubled automakers. Both need billions in emergency government loans to remain solvent and transform their operations, and bankruptcy remains an option. By pledging to stand behind the warranties, the government removes the fear that buyers may be spending lots of cash on a product the manufacturer won't be able to support if it goes out of business. Still, these remain...

Nakheel Hotels has bought a 50 percent interest in the Fontainebleau Miami Beach resort for $375 million. The iconic hotel is in the midst of a $500 million renovation and is expected to open during the second half of 2008. Aventura-based Turnberry Associates bought the hotel in 2005. The Dubai emirate manages Nakheel, the hotel group's parent company. It developed the Palm Islands in Dubai and recently partnered with Busch Entertainment Corp., the family entertainment division of Anheuser-Busch Cos., to put four theme parks on the man-made islands. "We are extremely pleased to have a world-class organization such as Nakheel,...

Can Smoot-Hawley only happen in the US? February 26th, 2009 by Michael Yesterday in a meeting I was asked by an investor why, even while I have been writing maniacally about the crucial importance of global cooperation, I was so consistently pessimistic about the possibility of the major economies arriving at a “grand bargain” that will minimize over the long term the cost of the current crisis. I think, in fact, that a nasty fight over trade is very probable and I worry that not only will trade conflict come as a huge shock to China’s economy, but also that...

‘Buy America’ in Stimulus (but Good Luck With That) By LOUIS UCHITELLE The “Buy America” clause in the $787 billion stimulus package signed into law on Tuesday has a certain quaintness to it. Far more than in the past, the phrase has come to mean “Buy America — if it is still made here.” Take the $43 billion earmarked for green technology. Most of the nation’s solar panels and wind turbines are imported, mainly from Europe and Asia, and the new law waves aside Buy America restrictions if “the relevant manufactured goods are not produced in the United States in...

This isn’t the beginning of a full-fledged trade war, but it is one of many signs which could lead to one. Brazil is planning on challenging the CRAPulus Generational Theft Act at WTO meetings, citing the "buy American" provision which was inserted into the bill by congress despite President Obama's reservations.

British jobs for British workers!" thundered Gordon Brown, as he emerged from the shadow of Tony Blair to become prime minister. His populist sloganeering has now come back to bite him. Across Britain, thousands laid down tools in wildcat strikes in solidarity with a walkout from a French-owned oil refinery in North Killinghome -- to protest a $300 million contract to an Italian company that plans to bring in 400 Italian and Portuguese workers to fulfill it. As Brown pleaded from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that Britain must not retreat into "protectionism," strikes spread to Scotland, Wales...

Trade: The new administration watered down a protectionist "Buy American" provision in the Senate stimulus bill and hoped all sides would go away happy. But they won't, as the European Union envoy to the U.S. explains.As if the $900 billion stimulus package wasn't controversial enough, provisions requiring purchase of U.S.-made iron and steel for government contracts that were slipped into the House version, and of all manufactured goods in the Senate's, have annoyed more people than expected — across the world. Last week, leaders from Canada, Brazil, China, the U.K., India, Mexico, Germany and the Czech Republic, among others, spoke...

The Republican Party of the 1920's swept into power during a financial crisis. Errors in the Fed’s monetary policy in 1919 in kept rates too low to benefit the sale of Victory bonds. The Fed then tightened excessively due to inflation, creating a financial shock and depression from 1920 to 1921. At that time, the Republican Party viewed increasing tariffs as good policy. Thus, during the sixty seventh Congress, the Emergency Tariff Act of 1921 was passed as a temporary measure until a more comprehensive measure could be drafted. Ultimately, Fordney-McCumber passed in 1922, imposing an ad valorem rate of...

Barack Obama may be forced to protect to stay at the top Irwin Stelzer The desire by Congress to include “buy American” provisions in the stimulus package has set off alarm bells in the free-trade community. The World Trade Organisation is so alarmed by the move and by other countries’ lurch to protectionism that it is convening an international meeting tomorrow to attempt to defuse the protectionist time bomb. With reason. During his presidential campaign Barack Obama made it clear he is unhappy with the way the world trading system works – draining factories and jobs from America. And not...

Intelligent leadership is not determined by eloquence alone - instead it is measured by one’s ability to foresee unintended consequences and act accordingly. Many have remarked on the intelligence of President Obama, and early on he has been hailed as the perfect candidate to usher in a new era of change. It is encouraging to witness his ability to bring people together and his ability to inspire confidence but at the end of the day, he must enact policies that will solve the current crisis without creating new ones. Let’s take a closer look at some unintended consequences alive and...

The much heralded "Buy American" clause in the stimulus package was the fulcrum for a lot of angst during the past several days. As a matter of law, the stimulus version of "Buy American" was less restrictive than existing law. And Obama already had available to his mighty pen the right to make exceptions to conform to treaties such as NAFTA. The entire public episode over this situation was grounded in a simple lack of understanding of the law.

I don't like the stimulus and would prefer it not pass...but since the GOP has added their own pork...it's going to pass. Please call Congress and the White House. Tell them if the BUY AMERICAN amendment is stripped...do not vote for the stimulus bill. I would be just as happy if it did not pass, but if tax payer dollars are going to be spent, let's stimulate the American economy and provide jobs for America-not Europe,Japan and particularly not China. Stand up for America.

McClatchy begins its article entitled, "'Buy American' isn't new, but is it really a good idea?" with this statement: WASHINGTON — "Buy American" provisions in the economic stimulus legislation moving through Congress have foreign leaders threatening retaliation and academics warning that the globe could soon go through the kind of tit-for-tat protectionism that helped deepen the Great Depression. The article goes on: A number of economic stimulus programs are being forged in capitals around the world — from Beijing and London to Brasilia and Canberra — that could launch a new wave of what some will call protectionism, others self...

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Republican Senator John McCain on Wednesday introduced legislation to strip from a massive economic stimulus bill a "Buy American" clause that has deeply angered and worried US allies. "I've got an amendment to try to kill it," McCain, who lost the White House to President Barack Obama in November, told AFP shortly after introducing the measure. A Senate vote on the amendment, which declares that "the utilization of funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act shall not be subject to any Buy American requirement," could come late Wednesday or early Thursday. The EU and Canada...

February 4, 2009 President Obama to water down 'Buy American' plan after EU trade war threat David Charter, Rory Watson and Philip Webster The European Union warned the US yesterday against plunging the world into depression by adopting a planned “Buy American” policy, intensifying fears of a trade war. The EU threatened to retaliate if the US Congress went ahead with sweeping measures in its $800 billion (£554 billion) stimulus plan to restrict spending to American goods and services. Gordon Brown was caught in the crossfire as John Bruton, the EU Ambassador to Washington, said that “history has shown us”...

February 4, 2009 President Obama to water down 'Buy American' plan after EU trade war threat The European Union warned the US yesterday against plunging the world into depression by adopting a planned “Buy American” policy, intensifying fears of a trade war. The EU threatened to retaliate if the US Congress went ahead with sweeping measures in its $800 billion (£554 billion) stimulus plan to restrict spending to American goods and services. Gordon Brown was caught in the crossfire as John Bruton, the EU Ambassador to Washington, said that “history has shown us” where the closing of markets leads —...

The European Union warned the US yesterday against plunging the world into depression by adopting a planned “Buy American” policy, intensifying fears of a trade war. The EU threatened to retaliate if the US Congress went ahead with sweeping measures in its $800 billion (£554 billion) stimulus plan to restrict spending to American goods and services.

The European Union and Canada have ratcheted up pressure against US President Barack Obama's Buy American stimulus plan, sending letters to the White House and Congress in protest. The EU ambassador to Washington, John Bruton, said he had written yesterday to the leaders of Congress and the Obama administration expressing concerns about government legislation to restrict procurement to American goods, including steel and textiles. 'We regard this legislation as setting a very dangerous precedent at a time when the world is facing a global economic crisis,' Mr Bruton said. AdvertisementThe Senate is considering a massive stimulus plan that restricts stimulus-funded...

The EU has increased its pressure on the US to reconsider the "Buy American" clause in the $800bn (£567bn) economic recovery package now before Congress. The clause seeks to ensure that only US iron, steel and manufactured goods are used in projects funded by the bill. A European Commission spokesman said it was the "worst possible signal". However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said President Obama had assured her the US would not follow protectionist policies...

The stimulus package being discussed on Capitol Hill contains a "Buy American" provision that smells a tad like the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 which most economists believe turned a bad recession into the Great Depression. Despite such overtones, press members on this side of the Atlantic have mostly failed to make this connection, or, at the very least, chosen not to share it with their readers or viewers.

Washington is planning billions in subsidies for the ailing automobile industry, and the US Senate is debating a 'Buy American' provision in its economic stimulus package. The European Union fears the US is trying to seal off its market -- and is using its diplomatic arsenal in a bid to stop the move. The European Union is unhappy about a "Buy American" clause in the United States bailout program making its way through Senate this week that officials say reeks of protectionism and could threaten to spark renewed trade wars between the US and Europe. "President Obama has a major...

Top US Senate Republican slams 'buy American' idea The senior Republican in the U.S. Senate added his voice Friday to those of several foreign leaders in denouncing "buy American" provisions of economic stimulus legislation making its way through the Senate. Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, predicted in comments to reporters that including the provision would cause trade wars. "I don't think we ought to use a measure that is supposed to be timely, temporary and targeted to set off trade wars," McConnell said. "The entire world is experiencing a downturn in the economy," he said. "I think it's...

Obama's 'buy American' rescue package runs risk of a trade war after Brown's plea against protectionism at Davos summit 02nd February 2009 Barack Obama is facing a major dilemma over protectionist policies which could lead to bitter trade wars. After Gordon Brown's impassioned plea against protectionism at the Economic World Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the new President was in urgent discussions with aides to find a way of balancing two competing demands. His problem is that his massive economic stimulus package passed by the lower house of Congress last week had 'buy American' provisions attached to it by lawmakers. At...

Free trade afforded by goodwill in times of economic expansion is ending rapidly with the lurch of the world economies into recession. Plans by U.S. Congress and President Barack Obama to put a fence around its US$825-billion stimulus package by implementing a "Buy America" policy is a veiled attempt to export unemployment to the rest of the world. The result could be slower growth and a higher cost of credit for the U.S. economy, two good reasons for investors to "Sell America" now. Attaching a "Buy America" policy to the US Stimulus Package is a futile and dangerous attempt to...

The White House has promised to review the protectionist proposals, passed last week by Democratic allies in the House of Representatives, which would ban the use of non-American steel in the $800 billion of construction projects. Obama officials are under pressure from what European diplomats in Washington describe as a discreet but outspoken campaign of "quiet fury" from America's closest allies. They regard the move as a provocative shift away from free trade and towards economic populism at a time of turmoil. In a bid to win further favour with impoverished voters, Mr Obama announced yesterday that his Treasury team...

U.S. businesses and trading partners are up in arms over a provision the House bill that prohibits the purchase of foreign iron and steel for any stimulus-funded infrastructure project.U.S. businesses and trading partners are resisting a new "Buy American" provision in the $819 billion economic stimulus package making its way through Congress. The provision, included in the House bill that passed on Wednesday, generally prohibits the purchase of foreign iron and steel for any stimulus-funded infrastructure project. The goal is to boost the U.S. iron and steel industries, which have been pummeled by the current recession. Shipments in the steel...

Economy: In barring foreign steel from infrastructure projects and forcing payment of "prevailing wages," the stimulus bill merges the Davis-Bacon and Smoot-Hawley acts in a way that could be a recipe for depression.Protectionism, one of the contributing factors to the Great Depression, has reared its ugly head again with a provision in the recently passed House stimulus package — H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. In an amendment inserted by Rep. Peter Visclosky, D-Ind., and approved by the House Appropriations Committee, none of the stimulus-funded infrastructure projects can proceed "unless all of the iron and steel...

The stimulus bill passed by the House last night contains a controversial provision that would mostly bar foreign steel and iron from the infrastructure projects laid out by the $819 billion economic package. A Senate version, yet to be acted upon, goes further, requiring, with few exceptions, that all stimulus-funded projects use only American-made equipment and goods. Proponents of expanding the "Buy American" provisions enacted during the Great Depression, including steel and iron manufacturers and labor unions, argue that it is the only way to ensure that the stimulus creates jobs at home and not overseas. Opponents, including some of...

'Buy American' - Sparks Fly A stimulus provision that bans the purchase of foreign construction materials for public works projects gets jeers from economists and European trade interests. A debate is brewing at home and abroad over an economic stimulus measure that would require materials used in the program's infrastructure projects to be purchased from American companies. In the $819 billion House bill passed Wednesday, the so-called "Buy American" provision would, with some notable exceptions, ensure that only U.S.-produced iron and steel be used for construction. It expands on a 76-year-old federal law. The Senate, which is likely to take...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A debate is brewing at home and abroad over an economic stimulus measure that would require materials used in the program's infrastructure projects to be purchased from American companies. In the $819 billion House bill passed Wednesday, the so-called "Buy American" provision would, with some notable exceptions, ensure that only U.S.-produced iron and steel be used for construction. It expands on a 76-year-old federal law. The Senate, which is likely to take up stimulus next week, would go even further, effectively requiring that any products and equipment be American-made. "The Buy American provision will help stimulate...

US-EU trade war looms as Barack Obama bill urges 'Buy American' The prospect of a trade war between the US and Europe is looming after "Buy American" provisions were added to President Barack Obama's $820 billion (£573 billion) stimulus package. By Alex Spillius in Washington Last Updated: 12:27AM GMT 30 Jan 2009 The EU trade commissioner vowed to fight back after the bill passed in the House of Representatives late on Wednesday included a ban on most purchases of foreign steel and iron used in infrastructure projects. The Senate's version of the legislation, which will be debated early next week,...

There is unsettling news for Canada in U.S. President Barack Obama's economic stimulus bill, or at least in the version approved Wednesday night by the House of Representatives. It says that steel used in public projects under the $819-billion US plan must be made in the United States, an idea likely to cause trade disputes and block sales by Canadian mills. As passed by the House, section 1110 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 says, "None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this act may be used for a project for the construction, alteration,...

The steel industry, having entered the recession in the best of health, is emerging as a leading indicator of what lies ahead. As steel production goes — and it is now in collapse — so will go the national economy. That maxim once applied to Detroit’s Big Three car companies, when they dominated American manufacturing. Now they are losing ground in good times and bad, and steel has replaced autos as the industry to watch for an early sign that a severe recession is beginning to lift. The industry itself is turning to government for orders that, until the September...

Not shopping at Wal-Mart is inconvenient and costly, but just as I was weaning myself off Sam’s Choice animal crackers, it turns out that avoiding the only place that will sell you The Breakfast Club for $5 is not enough. The liberal yuppie peer pressure has moved on to boycotting all products made in China. Would you like me to stop breathing to not pollute the environment while I’m at it too? Actually, don’t answer that. The new pet project of the J.Crew-clad Inquisition has the right foundation – China’s record of human rights abuses in prisons and in the...

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA), ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, announced the introduction of the All-American Holiday Act in the U.S. House of Representatives. The measure, H.Res. 831, encourages Americans to purchase American-made products this holiday season. “As Americans head to the stores to purchase gifts for family and friends this holiday season, they will have the choice of buying either foreign, imported products, or those which are made here in America,” said Congressman Hunter. “By choosing to purchase American-made products, consumers will be helping to strengthen our nation’s economy, protect American workers and...

Holiday Shopping: Putting Our Money Where Our Mouth Is Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah FRiends! This is the time of year that is special because is engenders the spirit of giving and selflessness of its sacred origins. Each of us, in his or her own way, has a special place in our heart for this joyful time. As we put others' needs and desires first, as we look forward to the expression of surprise and delight on our loved ones' faces as they receive our gifts, as we peruse the ailes, let us consider the economic import of our duty. Some...

Chicago - Alice Hollowed never figured she'd need to worry about toxic toys. A fan of simpler play things for her children, she doesn't even allow battery-operated toys in her house. So it came as something of a shock to her this year when her son's wooden "Thomas" train toys were recalled. "It horrified me," says Ms. Hollowed, a Chicago mother of three. "You buy these nice wooden toys, $20 apiece, you don't expect it to be full of lead. I'm not even buying the plastic toys and we still got caught by the recall." With more than 25 million...

(BEIJING) - China's problems with lead in consumer products go far beyond tainted toys. From playthings to paint to gasoline, Chinese companies use lead in a wide range of products and experts say China's children are suffering the health consequences. Beijing has prohibited leaded gasoline in recent years and has tightened standards for other goods. But enforcement is spotty, and lead is still so common that researchers say up to one-fifth of Chinese children tested had unsafe levels in their blood. In comparison, about 310,000 U.S. children ages 1 to 5, or less than 2 percent of that population, have...