It was easy to miss the announcement in The Federal Register (the US’s little read journal of record) that the US Air Force
was asking for a waiver on the “Buy American” requirement for 37 items it needed at its Eielson Base in Alaska. The products included screws, ceiling fans, light fixtures, towel rods, shower rods, and handrail brackets. The Air Force got its exemption on buying American with this statement: “Extensive market research and thorough investigation of the domestic manufacturing landscape” showed these items were made almost exclusively in China.
Is this shocking? We know that over 57,000 factories disappeared in this country between 1999 and 2009 (see Businessweek, May 9,2011). But the Pentagon may have actually accelerated this trend. According to Businessweek, flat-panel displays, machine tools, and advanced electronics and IT goods are now also obtained from non-US suppliers. Further, armor-plate steel, defense-specific integrated circuits, and night vision goggles are among the items the DOD says it must obtain overseas. The goal of cost-cutting has ended up increasing the military’s reliance on overseas suppliers. It may also mean the US may be opening itself to the danger that an overseas manufacturer could place a “Trojan horse” component in to critical equipment. (Does this sound like what happened to Iran’s nuclear reactors)?
Of 16 manufacturing sectors that underpin America’s military, 13 suffered erosion between 2001-2008, as measured by decreased employment, output, and number of factories. These industries, which include foundries, forging and machine shops, have wide applications in civilian industry as well.
We all know that some decline in America’s low-end manufacturing is to be expected. Imports, for example, make up more than 95% of sales of silverware, men’s clothes, and woman’s shoes. But according to the National Research Council, “the movement of manufacturing offshore is weakening American R&D capability” in some areas.
Discussion questions:
1. How has the military affected US manufacturing, according to this article?
2. Should we be making towel bars in the US?