Buy American and Buy European: Barriers to Defense Procurement

摘要

Passed in 1933, the Buy American Act serves as a way of protecting U.S. companiesfrom foreign competition. In light of a global economy and the emergence of regional trading blocs, the United States must rethink this past policy and develop policies which insure the nation's defense but also promotes free trade. Today the emphasis is on cutting defense costs in the absence of a major threat and refocusing our energies on our internal problems. The Cold War is over and our major opponent no longer exists. The rationale for justifying costly and advanced technological weapon systems has disappeared. Defense contractors who could once rely on major buys of their equipment and were assured of running their production lines near capacity are now conducting major downsizing of their operations resulting in the massive layoffs of their employees. Some companies see no future in defense and are electing to get out of this industry.