"Growing up I remember my parents always shopping for products bearing the "Made in USA" label. This represented quality and true value. Having lived through the Depression, my parents felt it was patriotic to help support American workers."
— Nate Yoder, Mullet’s Aluminum
What happened to Made In USA?
In 2001 the World Trade Organization accepted China as a "favored nation".
President Clinton told us this was a "Historic step toward continued prosperity in America; reform in China, and peace in the world." To become a member of the WTO China would have to adhere to rules, reduce tariffs and guarantee intellectual property rights. U.S. companies would lower costs, gain global markets, and reap fantastic profits. Globalists told us we would elevate our economy while bringing capitalism and democracy to China. What could possibly go wrong?
6 million American manufacturing jobs were lost. Chinese "partners" shamelessly stole intellectual property to set up shadow factories to produce low price competitive goods – often with processes and even materials paid for by their American partners. When goods were shipped as contracted, product specifications were often disregarded; sometimes with dangerous results.
Under the Transpacific deal of 2015, federal policies all but mandated offshoring production of pharmaceuticals. The current pandemic exposes how critical it is to maintain control of your nation’s medical supply production.
Why is Made In USA important?
Dave Ferguson, business advisor for FloridaMakes says, "Other than that certain amount of pride that goes with the ability to say ‘Our products are made in America,’ the most obvious reason manufacturing companies want to source materials from within the United States is to create more manufacturing jobs in America, thereby creating other jobs within the U.S. economy. According to the National Association of Manufacturers, every $1.00 spent in manufacturing adds $2.74 to the economy. Not only does increasing the number of U.S. companies within a company's supply chain improve the well-being of many Americans, it also decreases dependence on foreign raw materials and strengthens U.S. national security. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many manufacturing companies are already finding it difficult to start ramping up production as their supply chains slowly start back up. Consider how the tensions between the U.S. and China have affected manufacturers that are dependent on Chinese goods and materials to stay profitable. Imagine how hard it would be for those companies to sustain production should tensions increase. Large companies like Apple, Caterpillar and Whirlpool have already made the decision to bring manufacturing back home. Let’s hope that others follow suit."
"Having a foreign supply chain during the Coronavirus pandemic caused great concern at Teakdecking Systems, especially since everything happened so fast," said Rob Harris, director of supply chain and logistics. "For our primary materials such as teak wood, we don’t have much choice. We are fortunate to have great relationships with multiple international manufacturers and suppliers. But for other items which are in short supply or difficult to import, we are making a concerted effort to purchase Made In America products. The closing of the world economy and country borders really drove home the point."
Harris, also executive director of SAMA, went on to say "It’s great to have organizations such as FloridaMakes spearhead local supply chain efforts through projects like Connex Florida. This will be a great help to companies such as ours for finding suppliers locally and within the state."
What is the value of local procurement?
Years ago, a study by the Greater Tampa Bay Partnership revealed how many dollars would be added to the area’s gross product simply by encouraging local manufacturers to connect with local sources instead of going out of state or offshore. $183 million spent by manufacturers to procure materials outside our region extrapolates to $6.83 billion total manufacturing sales. That means 29,000 manufacturing jobs which in turn create 47,000 service sector jobs. $6.8 billion of manufacturing sales supports $9.1 billion of economic activity. Do we want that $9.1 billion boosting our economy or that of a foreign power?
The counter argument to Made In USA has been that it results in increased costs for consumers. While this might be painful in the short term, we must consider the long-range consequences of ceding our means of production to a foreign power.
As we celebrate July 4th, we should remember that our forefathers were willing to pay for our independence with their lives. Who are we to sell that freedom so cheaply?
Peter D. Straw is executive director emeritus of the Sarasota Manatee Area Manufacturers Association and can be reached at execdir@sama-fl.com.
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