By Chris Brunet
President Joe Biden emphasized in his State of the Union address on Tuesday that he would fight inflation by enacting a policy that economists generally agree would exacerbate inflation.
“I think I have a better idea fight to inflation,” said Biden. “Lower your costs, not your wages… That means make more cars and semiconductors in America… Instead of relying on foreign supply chains, let’s make it in America.”
Crowd breaks out into “U.S.A.” chant after Pres. Biden says, “Instead of relying on foreign supply chains, let’s make it in America.” #SOTU https://t.co/fRRhmoV8PD pic.twitter.com/kaGykt8zlx
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) March 2, 2022
Biden was immediately rebutted by the Peterson Institute for International Economics on Twitter. “While a political winner, research finds that ‘Buy American’ requirements increased US domestic procurement costs across federal & state governments by 5.6% in 2017, costing US taxpayers an additional $94 billion.”
These higher costs exemplify what economists call “gains from specialization” and “mutually beneficial trade.” For example, the iPhone X would cost double the price (roughly $2,000) if it were manufactured in America, according to tech analyst Tim Bajarin. By manufacturing products overseas instead — where labor costs are much lower — and importing it, consumers gain access to cheaper phones.
During his term in office, former President Donald Trump promised to stimulate domestic manufacturing, as has Biden over the past year.
In an attempt to enact his “Buy America” policies, Trump famously started a trade war with China. Ed Gresser, vice president and director for trade and global markets at the Progressive Policy Institute, estimates that the Trump tariffs added 0.5% to annual inflation during Biden’s first year in office.
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Lets get honest. Its the regulations on business that pushed them to manufacturing in the orient. E.g., We cut pollution in the US by exporting the smoke stacks to China. There are many other examples. Until that is addressed, nothing will fix the problem.