protectionism

Will the "Buy American" clause in the stimulus bill create or destroy jobs?

Posted February 16, 2009 - 14:06 by Xin Lu

Consumer Affairs

Tomorrow on February 17th President Obama plans to sign the $787 billion stimulus bill recently passed by Congress. One controversial portion of the bill is a clause for the public works and infrastructure projects to "buy American". The logic behind this is that if the money in the stimulus is spent to buy American products then Americans will have more jobs. However, this policy of protectionism is sparking many fears of a global trade war. Will this clause create or destroy jobs?

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