President Obama to water down 'Buy American' plan after EU trade war threat

President Obama to water down 'Buy American' plan after EU trade war threat

www.timesonline.co.uk

The European Union warned the US yesterday against plunging the world into depression by adopting a planned “Buy American” policy, intensifying fears of a trade war.

The EU threatened to retaliate if the US Congress went ahead with sweeping measures in its $800 billion (£554 billion) stimulus plan to restrict spending to American goods and services.

Gordon Brown was caught in the crossfire as John Bruton, the EU Ambassador to Washington, said that “history has shown us” where the closing of markets leads — a clear reference to the Depression of the 1930s, triggered by US protectionist laws.

Last night Mr Obama gave a strong signal that he would remove the most provocative passages from the Bill.

(visit the link for the full news article)

He cant get the bill passed in the congress here in the states and now the brits are throwing threats about the bill.

Seems no matter how hard he keeps pushing it is making no effort what so ever to help get more support behind the bill.

Maybe is a universal sign that the bill wont help out the economy.

www.timesonline.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by HolydarknessVA


Well the President of "change" is shaping up to be the new boss, same as the old boss! he's going to take out the only thing I liked about this sickening bailout bill. Now instead of just american banking institutions getting free money from our future, foreign manufacturers and contractors will too! Awesome! GObama you rock!

Incredible to see how America has lost its Sovereignty to the greed global elite.

Where are the American patriots, the fighters of this nation and the supporters of Americas constitution.

What we have in our nations government is nothing more than a whole bunch of traitors.

reply to post by racegunz


Look, just how is this Obama's fault?

What Europe does is their business.

I think we need to reinforce the monroe doctrine.

reply to post by marg6043


I think the Europeans are just afraid that us having our sovereignty back will meant that we'll become great again.

What will the European American-haters do then when our country is strong and all well?

Frankidealist35, what people has forgotten in this nation, thanks to the propaganda that our own elite government has pay for is, that we the people are the rightful owners of this nation.

Sometime during the redaction of our constitution and even with all the warnings of our forefathers we has lost that right.

We has forgotten.

Now our own demise as a Sovereign nation is coming to us, our nations debt to foreign countries made possible for the impossible to happen.

We are now at the mercy of those nations that hold our debt.

But that is only possible because we have trusted our nation into the hands of traitors.

We are actually the only ones that can take our nation back.

Sad that we are witnessing in our own time what America has become in the hand of everybody else but the American people.

That's what happens when you do globalism. You can't rule in your own house... like the anti-smoking laws... can't smoke in your own house because some control freaks next doors want to control your life. Same thing with globalism.

And some people laughed at Ron Paul independance from the world doctrine...

I seriously don't know why we don't put the rest of the world out of its misery with just a few policy changes.

The EU and everybody else all hate America so why do we put up with this bull?

All we have to do is end central planning get a stable currency transition to a fair or flat tax. and impose trade tariffs.

I give it 2 years before the EU and everybody else changes their tune and quits bad mouthing us when they don't have the worlds greediest people supporting their economies.

My thinking isn't about world domination it is about National Security and being self sufficient.

The problem is that Obama was presented in the media as a world uniter and savior. Now the rest of the world is expecting him to be their new hope as well as the people who voted for him.
The stimulus package he is pushing tags most of the money for 2 and 4 years down the road. For the most part it is a farce. The only thing that it has going for it is the idea that America should buy American. Not an unusually wild thought for an American taxpayer. But we know that the American taxpayer is last and least on the list when it comes to priorities.
Did the EU expect the US to send them a stimulus package?
Maybe they did. Everybody thinks that uncle Obama is going to bail them out and fix everything.
He's just going to push the same old agenda that the dems have been pushing for 40 years but he's going to do it at Hundreds of billions of dollars at a time. The buy American thing isn't really important to him just the money that will be dumped into more of the old time liberal agenda. Since that agenda originated in Europe decades ago , it is no big deal to bend over and kiss their butts. Who cares if Americans need jobs. Listen to the elite rich members of the EU ruling class. They have our best interests at heart right?

reply to post by Frankidealist35


Do you even know what the monroe doctrine is?

Anyway, the whole point of this spat is that if the US decides to be protectionist, then the EU will as well. Considering the EU still has a vast manufacturing base, strong trade links with Asia and Russia and a trade surplus with the US anyway, this would end up harming the US even more than what has already happened. It is in your own best interests not to shut out what is essentially the worlds largest economy....

Why the whinging, anyway? It was the USA's policies after WW2 that set up this whole globalised mess in the first place. Reap what you sow....

reply to post by badgerprints


No, what the European nations and WTO wants is the stimulus to be put in the hands of the American people so they can go on the spending spree and frenzy that has taken this nation to bend to its knees.

As a nation of consumers only with no industrial base all that money that will be in the backs of our unborn generations to come will end up in the coffers of our suppliers.

America consume more than exports and as the part of the stimulus that is going for consumer confidence inundate the retail stores in America, China, India and any other country that exports their cheap trash to our nation will get a boost to their trouble economies.

The greed didn't stop with that, they wanted all.

At the end we will be left with the bills and the rest of the world that trade with us will get a boost to their economies.

We Americans are now relegated to nothing more than milking cows with a mighty military to fight other nations wars.

reply to post by stumason


Yes I do know what it is.

I think the EU doesn't have a say in saying what we can't do.

That's why we made the monroe doctrine-- to prevent incidents like this from occurring.

Read some history or something.

reply to post by stumason


My friend how can America be hurt when we have one of the biggest trade deficit in the world.

We buy more than we trade, how do you expect any America to see this as fair?

The stimulus is to stimulate Americas economy if our money goes oversea like the WTO wants America will sink more into debt.

Then how is America going to get more money to support the imports from oversea?

Do you see what is going on?

As America falls economically so the rest of the world will go down too.

Like another posted said, a sick America will infect the world, a healthy America will infuse the world.

Right now is not the best time to rob Americas of what it has left.







[edit on 3-2-2009 by marg6043]

reply to post by Frankidealist35

Look, just how is this Obama's fault?

Ok congress, not Obama wrote this "bill" the ONLY thing in it I liked was that the monies went to American companies and the materials were to be exclusively american, you know to "stimulate" american businesses. Europe complained and Obama not congress sayd we must not appear to be protectionists, and that that clause of the bill will have to be rewritten.

So, how is he innocent? is he not the new decider? if everything that happened the last 8 years was Bush's fault then the shoe is now on Obama's foot. unless of course he threw it at Bush as he was leaving.

I say we go isolasionist. It will hurt for awhile but then we get up, dust ourselves off..and begin rebuilding things like the military that will take a cut. Then we dominate the world. JK!

reply to post by racegunz



But....but....but Obama is the CHOSEN ONE who will lift the entire world out of this mess and create a world of rosey delight. How can anything be his fault?




[edit on 2/3/0909 by Trayen11]

reply to post by racegunz


It's the EU's fault.

They're the ones that forced it on us.

They were the decider in this case.

The EU won't take kindly to the US's recommendations not to deal with the Russians and buy into their oil and gas supplies anymore. If the US goes along with a US first protectionist policy , then Europe will toss all political chenanigans the US may make about Russia aside and deal with them direct and fully , because they are the cheapest and most direct source of energy . You will lose political leverage whilst the world develops a new trade equilibrium without , for once , your input .

reply to post by Frankidealist35


The EU should not be able to tell the US what to do, so no, it's our leader's fault for caving to them.