Ovunc Kutlu
25 January 2021•Update: 25 January 2021
ANKARA
US President Joe Biden is set on Monday to sign an executive order pushing the federal government to purchase American-made goods, the White House said in a statement.
The order aims to have the US government spending taxpayer money "to support manufacturers, businesses, and workers to ensure that our future is made in all of America by all of America’s workers," it said.
It also aims to "close loopholes that allow companies to offshore production and jobs while still qualifying for domestic preferences," it added.
During his 2020 election campaign, Biden called for a $400 billion, four-year increase in government purchasing of American-made products and services.
Biden's plan is not unlike some moves of his predecessor Donald Trump, who tried to protect domestic businesses by raising tariffs on imported goods, and also called for American companies overseas to return their manufacturing back to US soil. But critics said his raising tariffs caused trade wars that hurt US businesses and also pointed to his mixed record of using foreign-made goods as a businessman.
Now faced with an economic downturn due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Biden is trying to revive small- and medium-sized businesses and protect them from bankruptcy, in addition to boosting investments in the manufacturing sector and employment.
His plan also pushes for the US to develop the technology needed for a clean energy future, strengthen its national security, and give American workers and companies a competitive edge.
After Trump started a trade conflict with China, the issues of technology transfer and intellectual property rights between the world's two largest economies still remain unresolved.
Unlike Trump's fossil fuel agenda, however, Biden wants to focus on renewable energy resources, as one of the 15 executive orders he signed on his first day in office put the US on track to rejoin the Paris Climate Accord, which Trump withdrew the US from.
