
<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/01/opinion/buy-american-laws.html" class="">https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/01/opinion/buy-american-laws.html</a><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><h1 itemprop="headline" id="headline" class="headline" style="font-size: 2rem; line-height: 2.25rem; font-weight: 500; font-family: nyt-cheltenham, georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; margin: 0px 0px 10px; visibility: visible;">‘Buy American’ Laws</h1><div id="story-meta-footer" class="story-meta-footer" style="border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); padding-top: 14px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); padding-bottom: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 16px;"><p class="byline-dateline" style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; margin: 0px 45px 3px 0px; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 17px;"><time class="dateline" datetime="2017-12-01T23:47:06-05:00" itemprop="dateModified" content="2017-12-01T23:47:06-05:00" style="white-space: nowrap; font-size: 0.6875rem; line-height: 0.75rem; font-family: nyt-cheltenham-sh, georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">DEC. 1, 2017</time></p><div class="story-meta-footer-sharetools" style="margin-top: 0px;"><div id="sharetools-story-meta-footer" aria-label="tools" role="group" class=" sharetools sharetools-story-meta-footer theme-classic" data-shares="facebook,twitter,email,show-all,save" data-url="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/01/opinion/buy-american-laws.html" data-title="‘Buy American’ Laws" data-author="" data-media="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/11/25/business/25DC-UNIFORM1/25DC-UNIFORM1-jumbo.jpg" data-description="The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers writes that waivers to the laws should be eliminated." data-publish-date="December 1, 2017" data-share-tools-initialized="1"><a class="visually-hidden skip-to-text-link" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/01/opinion/buy-american-laws.html#story-continues-1" style="font-family: nyt-cheltenham, georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; position: absolute; width: 1px; height: 1px; margin: -1px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; clip: rect(0px, 0px, 0px, 0px); overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(50, 104, 145);">Continue reading the main story</a><span class="visually-hidden sharetools-label" style="font-family: nyt-cheltenham, georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; position: absolute; width: 1px; height: 1px; margin: -1px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; clip: rect(0px, 0px, 0px, 0px); overflow: hidden;">Share This Pag</span><div class=""><font face="georgia, times new roman, times, serif" class=""><span style="line-height: 23px;" class=""><br class=""></span></font></div><div class=""><p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="14" data-total-count="14" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em 60px; font-size: 1.0625rem; line-height: 1.625rem; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; max-width: none; width: 540px;"><span style="font-weight: 700;" class="">To the Editor:</span></p><p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="106" data-total-count="120" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em 60px; font-size: 1.0625rem; line-height: 1.625rem; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; max-width: none; width: 540px;">Re “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/24/us/politics/secret-service-uniforms-mexico-trump-trade.html" style="color: rgb(50, 104, 145);" class="">Why ‘Made in America’ Is Stitched Into the Law, but Not the Uniforms</a>” (news article, Nov. 25):</p><p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="266" data-total-count="386" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em 60px; font-size: 1.0625rem; line-height: 1.625rem; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; max-width: none; width: 540px;">Many readers will be up in arms upon learning that our Secret Service uniforms may be made in countries like Mexico, where human rights continue to be abused. They will be even more concerned upon learning that offshoring government goods is not limited to uniforms.</p><p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="137" data-total-count="523" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em 60px; font-size: 1.0625rem; line-height: 1.625rem; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; max-width: none; width: 540px;">In the last decade, the Defense Department has spent more than $200 billion in taxpayer money on manufactured goods from other countries.</p><p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="305" data-total-count="828" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em 60px; font-size: 1.0625rem; line-height: 1.625rem; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; max-width: none; width: 540px;">One of the reasons the United States government looks to other countries for procurement is that trade deals like the North American Free Trade Agreement make it possible to buy goods we need from countries, like Mexico, where workers do not enjoy even the basic right to form free and independent unions.</p><p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="198" data-total-count="1026" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em 60px; font-size: 1.0625rem; line-height: 1.625rem; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; max-width: none; width: 540px;">Waivers in “buy American” laws also provide large loopholes that permit government procurement from other countries. Our taxpayer dollars should be used to provide well-paying jobs here at home.</p><p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="225" data-total-count="1251" id="story-continues-1" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em 60px; font-size: 1.0625rem; line-height: 1.625rem; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; max-width: none; width: 540px;">This is why the fight for fair trade agreements that would close government procurement loopholes and include labor provisions that obligate countries like Mexico to honor and enforce fundamental human rights is so important.</p><p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="71" data-total-count="1322" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em 60px; font-size: 1.0625rem; line-height: 1.625rem; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; max-width: none; width: 540px;">It is also why waivers in “buy American” laws should be eliminated.</p><p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="39" data-total-count="1361" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em 60px; font-size: 1.0625rem; line-height: 1.625rem; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; max-width: none; width: 540px;">ROBERT MARTINEZ JR. <br class="">UPPER MARLBORO, MD.</p><div class=""><br class=""></div></div><div class=""><p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="107" data-total-count="1468" id="story-continues-3" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em 60px; font-size: 1.0625rem; line-height: 1.625rem; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; max-width: none; width: 540px;"><em class="">The writer is international president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.</em></p><footer class="story-footer story-content" style="max-width: none; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 60px; width: 540px; position: relative; margin-top: 24px; clear: both; font-family: nyt-cheltenham, georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif;"><div class="story-meta"><p class="story-print-citation" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; font-size: 0.6875rem; line-height: 0.9375rem; font-family: nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(153, 153, 153);">A version of this letter appears in print on December 2, 2017, on Page A22 of the <span itemprop="printEdition" class="">New York edition</span> with the headline: ‘Buy American’ Laws.</p></div></footer></div></div></div></div></div><div class=""><div class="">

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; " class=""><div class="">Arthur Stamoulis</div><div class="">Citizens Trade Campaign</div><div class="">(202) 494-8826</div><div class=""><br class=""></div></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline">

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