Boeing's cry-baby protests over a $40 billion contract issued to a U.S.-European entry headed by Northrop Grumman has now got politicians squealing about the loss of American jobs. This smacks of the same hypocrisy we felt in the hot-air talk about re-negotiating NAFTA that wafted out of Ohio from the Democratic candidates. It raises the same old fears: U.S. manufacturing is dead. Americans can make movies and fast food. But cheap foreign labor bleeds the country of good manufacturing jobs.
This is hogwash. In the case of Boeing, both proposed tankers would be manufactured in many parts of the world, including the U.S. The weak dollar has many foreign manufacturers raising their production within U.S. borders. Of the 15.5 million vehicles built in North America last year, 6 million were built by foreign manufacturers.
Toyota recently opened a new plant in Texas and is building another in Mississippi.
Honda is building a new plant in Indiana and the company produced some 1 million of its 1.4 million vehicles sold in the U.S. within U.S. borders
Nissan has been building cars in Tennessee for years and has recently opened a new plant in Mississippi.
Volkswagen may make an announcement about a new U.S. plant as early as this summer, probably in the Carolinas or in Georgia.
Kia is building a new plant in Georgia.
Hyundai has a new plant in Alabama.
Only hours ago Audi's CEO Rupert Stadler reported to the media that Audi is considering building a U.S. plant.
BMW is raising its production at its South Carolina plant and is investing $750 million in its U.S. factories.
Sources: Forbes, Boston Globe, Seattle Intelligencer, NPR
Photo: Teamsters
