Summary: The Trump Administration has made it clear that the slogan “Buy American, Hire American” will be a cornerstone of its policy agenda. For an Administration that claims to support economic growth and job-growth policies, this policy completely misses the mark. Domestic content requirements, like those found in the Buy American Act, the Berry Amendment, and various other “Buy America” laws, result in additional regulatory burdens for producers, and increased costs for American taxpayers. These policies also make defense procurement more difficult, and in many cases decrease choice for our service members. All for little or no gain: The policies are unlikely to stimulate job growth in target industries. Rather than strengthening “Buy American” laws, Congress and the Administration should work together to eliminate all such laws currently on the books. Such a move would result in more than 300,000 additional private-sector jobs (net) and contribute $22 billion to U.S. GDP. Join us for a panel discussion on the many complex and burdensome laws on the books that impose domestic content requirements. Following the panel, we will feature the personal story of a business that is already feeling the negative consequences of the Trump Administration’s “Buy American” agenda.
