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Buy American

February 16, 2009 12:34 AM

The economic stimulus package includes a "Buy American" clause many U.S. industries lobbied for. Lesley Stahl reports that businesses that export overseas fear foreign governments will retaliate and keep U.S. products out of their market.

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by taz1279 March 28, 2009 11:02 PM EDT
I salute Dan DiMicco and Nucor for remaining true to their corporate culture and history, despite the formidable odds arrayed against them. How many companies do you know of today who have such loyalty to their employees that they refuse to fire a single employee, except for lack of performance? Employees at Nucor reciprocate this loyalty--one story tells that these employees chased away union representatives because of this loyalty to management and company. Nucor is a wonderful company with leading technology. America needs to nurture companies like Nucor. It is important that we give our companies a level playing field to compete on. Foreign steel companies--especially the Chinese--receive massive government subsidies and benefit from trade protections and an artificially low currency to unfairly compete with Nucor. The US has every right to protect itself and build its own real industries. Nucor was featured as a good to great company in Jim Collins' classic work. It's good to know that Nucor continues to be a great American company.
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by mgeddis20 March 7, 2009 9:08 PM EST
I honestly had mixed feelings about this report. Although I support American companies and despise seeing jobs get sent overseas, I also have very little sympathy for union workers who make close to $90K/year. I'm a recent college graduate coming into the working world in the middle of an economic crisis and these people are complaining about making only $40K/year?! I love my country, but honestly sometimes our citizens make me truly sick. They should consider themselves lucky to even still have jobs. Life could be much worse for them, they have absolutely no right to complain at all. Not until they're standing in line at the food bank and their houses are foreclosed on, as is happening to people every day all over the United States.
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by dmartin505 February 25, 2009 12:45 PM EST
It is unfortunate that Leslie Stahl was so unprepared for the interview of Dan DiMicco.
Dan DiMicco is a big bully who is always quick to blame imported steel when the US steel industry is not doing well.
But for the past 2 years , because of the strong demand in the rest of the world and the weak dollar,foreign made steel was not a factor in the US. Consequently , the US producers ( including Nucor) , increased steel prices by 140 % , choking many private and public construction projects as well as metal working companies such as automotive stampers etc..who could not pass such an increase to their customers . This ,in turn ,opened the door to foreign producers of steel contained finished goods and was the beginning of the US economy contraction, way ahead of the sub prime crisis.
Secondly, Leslie should have asked Mr DiMicco why the Freedom Tower ( as well as the Twin Towers before) is being built with steel beams produced in Luxembourg by ArcelorMittal......... Answer: These large beams are not produced in the USA.
D.Martin
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by cg37102006 February 25, 2009 11:57 AM EST
I think the best thing is for companies to operate as efficiently as possible. i.e. you should try to purchase the best product you can at the lowest price you can. That is healthy and leads to solid, sound businesses. If quality and price are roughly equal, then yeah, sure , buy American. But dont overpay for American goods if you can get them cheaper . That is a recipe for companies to become bloated, inefficient and eventually out of business.
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by witchblade41 February 24, 2009 7:15 PM EST
Mr. DiMicco did not seem opposed to the idea of fair trade when, a decade ago, he was able to emerge from bankruptcy thanks to growth in China. He also, according to his firm's 10-k statement, has a joint venture with a firm in China. And according to his firm's balance sheet, he has over $2.25 billion in debt, some of which (I daresay) is held by Chinese investors. In short, Mr. DiMicco does not oppose free trade if it enables him to export steel or import capital, only when it enables others to import steel. Perhaps someone should explain to Mr. DiMicco the idea of "having his cake, and eating it too".
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by bdepew-2009 February 17, 2009 6:34 PM EST
In response to the buy american story on 60 minutes. As an employee of nucor I feel very fortunate to work for such a company.While in maintence shop the other day I noticed two new Ingersoll rand 231 impact tools that I noticed said built in China.These tools use to be built in Athens Pa 7 miles from my nucor plant and my former place of employment as a subcontractor for another steel company.Also the Ingersoll Rand plant that employed my father,father In law,my wife and countless freinds.Ask Leslie if that is good for america
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by one4cato February 17, 2009 5:48 PM EST
Didn''t NUCOR actually benefit from the demise of America''s big, bloated, steel manuf in the way of less domestic competition? Doesn''t CAT get a little bit of love for having to pay MORE money for MORE expensive domestic steel? Isn''t steel manufacturing 0.5% of US GDP whereas "steel using" industries account for about 12% of U.S. GDP? Do we REALLY want to "protect" the few to hurt the many?...
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by anglosaxongal February 17, 2009 5:59 AM EST
I just want to ask a fundamental question. Where did the money go? It can''t have fallen completely off the earth. The crisis they tell us is worldwide....WHERE DID THE MONEY GO? SOMEBODY HAS IT!
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by chblum45 February 17, 2009 1:15 AM EST
God bless Dan DiMicco and Nucor. Leslie Stahl doesn''t seem to understand much about the development of America''s modern steel industry (Nucor never foisted off its pensions or other benefits on the government) nor about the agreed rules of international trade (government purchases have always been exempt from WTO rules, except as agreed on a reciprocal basis among a handful of countries not including Brazil or China). She also seems not to understand that Caterpillar''s global strategy is part and parcel of the current economic crisis. Growing the American economy by investing abroad and consuming with borrowed money at home is a failed strategy.

The proof is in the pudding. Cat was quick to lay off 20,000 workers despite its preeminent position in its own industry. By contrast, Nucor, a successful but by no means dominant player in the highly competitive world steel industry, has kept faith with its workers, the communities in which it operates, the customers it serves, and the free country in which it operates.

Americans should not be confused by "free trade" rhetoric. The plain fact is that we need to invest and produce more in this ocuntyr so that we can export more and pay down our massive foreign debt. Nucor believes that; Cat apparently does not.
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by proamerica1 February 16, 2009 10:21 PM EST
Like me, are you tired of hearing over and over again how America has a responsibility to rescue the rest of the world from the economic crisis we%u2019re all in? Airline flight attendants encourage passengers to first put their own oxygen masks on before attempting to help other passengers. If we don%u2019t do just that in an in-flight crisis, we perish, and we help no one. That%u2019s where America is headed. America needs to don its own oxygen mask before it attempts to go off and save the world this time. That%u2019s what %u201CBuy American%u201D is all about.

The truth about US exports abroad is they follow the value of the dollar. When the dollar weakens, companies like Caterpillar export more. When the dollar strengthens, they export less. The dollar%u2019s ebbs and flows are as fundamental to trade economics as blocking and tackling are to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Respond to threats of trade retaliation with a managed US dollar like our last great President the late Ronald Reagan did. That%u2019s what our trading partners do!!! They manage our currency to their advantage -- and we let them get away with it!!!

Supporting %u201CBuy American%u201D provisions today in stimulus so US tax dollars continue working %u201Cgeometrically%u201D for all Americans isn%u2019t Un-American. What is Un-American today is failing to put Americans first. I sadly expect that many of the %u201CGreatest Generation%u201D may turn over in their graves at just that thought.
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by ed_c_in_ok February 16, 2009 8:41 PM EST
Years of the Bush investment strategy has pushed jobs & Federal funding outside of the USA where there is less if any checks and balances to follow the money trail. Once billions are outside of America it is much easier to get kick backs under the table with no consequence. Bush and Cheney got filthy rich while killing this Country in many more ways than just declaring a war to create a new demand to build war machines that became almost unnecessary after the Cold War ended. The demands caused by the Bush war drove the price of everything made of steel into new levels of inflation because of the manufactured demand of their war. Americans will be paying higher prices on many things for a long time simply because the republican leadership used these kinds of desperate scams to keep the illusion of a robust economy far past the time responsible leadership would have created healthy adjustments to prevent the pending economic collapse.
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by klewis77 February 16, 2009 4:52 PM EST
to rsleep63...Although you may associate the Volvo name with foreign ownership, I assure you that the approximately 500 employees in Asheville, NC at the North American Headquarters and Assembly Hub are supporting our economy all across the US...And-Volvo cars are owned by Ford Motor Company.
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by gemhudson February 16, 2009 12:32 PM EST
John Maynard Keyness book The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money say. The money supply side, if no longer earned, should be expended to cover what so ever cost at any cost so as to make what wasn''t working working out better.

Why not offer up the very best that their money can buy and sell one to another market place? I call it a balance trade.
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by hagan_arnold February 16, 2009 11:59 AM EST
If free trade has caused retirees to be denied of their retirement benefits that would be a shame.
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by rleep63 February 16, 2009 12:21 AM EST
Why didn''t Miss Stahl ask Mr. DiMicco or his staff what type of vehicle they drove? The heavy equipment used in their scrap yard looked like they were either Komatsu or Volvo, neither of which are American. That seems rather a contradiction to their so called "Buy American" statements.
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by jkornegay February 16, 2009 12:10 AM EST
Maybe they didn''t go to Pittsburgh to do the story on the steel industry because the stupid unions have made it impossible for the companies there to actually make money. They have had to lay everyone off and shutter the plants, so there''s no one to interview.
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by big60minfan February 15, 2009 11:25 PM EST
The Steelers just won the Superbowl and you go to Arkansas for a story on the US steel industry, doesn''t seem right to me.
Billy Joel wrote the song Allentown a couple of decades ago, sure like to know how things are there these days.
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