Made in the USA: Important When Purchasing?

[x635 4,066]

I'm wondering if there are any departments out there that specify that the products they want to purchase (even if it's as small as an ax), have to be "Made in America" ?

Is sourcing a product made by a domestic company over one made in China acceptable?

Do you go to your vendors and let them know you only want products "Made in the USA"?

Are we being fair to taxpayers by doing this, since a Made in the USA product may cost more money, but it helps the economy elsewhere in our nation.

I know, my point isn't well written, I'm tired...hopefully some of you guys will pick up on this.

[50-65 205]

I don't know about district policies, but for myself, I will buy "Made in America" over foreign sourced whenever possible. This is especially true when I buy tools. It makes sense to me to pay twice as much for USA rather than China, etc and end up having to replace it often.

[FD7807 59]

American tax dollars should be used to buy Amerrcan made goods. Nothing fixes a broken economy like supporting American workers/businesses

[38ff 250]

My district buys as much Made in the USA as possible.

[Bnechis 3,961]

A few years ago my dept was looking to purchase a commercial box truck to convert to an MCI support vehicle. We were told that the GMC & Isuzu were basically the same so we selected a GMC unit because it sounded more "American".

A few months before delivery the dealer called us and said: "I've got good news and bad news"

The good news is your GMC chassis VIN # 123456789 has been loaded on to a ship in Kobe Japan and should be in Baltimore in 3 weeks.

Now the bad news in a federal bankruptcy court ruling last night GMC can no longer sell this unit......But if you are willing.... I have an Isuzu chassis vin # 123456789 (identical vin) which has been loaded on to a ship in Kobe Japan and should be in Baltimore in 3 weeks you can have it at no additional cost.

It turns out That GM owns both companies. The vehicles are identical until they get to the US and the stickers are added.

[Riverside80 6]

Did you know that Isuzu has now hired Spartan to build their trucks in the USA.

[Bnechis 3,961]

Did you know that Isuzu has now hired Spartan to build their trucks in the USA.

But that was long after we purchased this vehicle.

So what do you consider: "Made in America" My Honda from Ohio or My Ford that was made in Canada?

[SteveC7010 58]

But that was long after we purchased this vehicle.

So what do you consider: "Made in America" My Honda from Ohio or My Ford that was made in Canada?

The situation is even more blurry now looking at other items that emergency services purchase, especially radios. Radios assembled here in the US are probably 95% composed of overseas components. Ownership is, well, who knows anymore? Motorola Solutions is still based in the Illinois, but production is world wide. Other brands may be based in Japan, but have huge distribution, repair, and dealer networks in the US.

Most, if not all, new and innovative products, while developed in the US by Americans, are all manufactured in another country.

Given the globalization that is so wide spread these days, I suspect it's not possible to simply "Buy American" anymore. I know there may be some exceptions, but having purchase rules in place that specify US made only is overall, an antiquated concept that can no longer be blindly applied across the board.

Wasn't it a kick when, by its own rules, NASCAR had to add Toyota to its list of manufacturers that could compete in their programs? I think that woke up a lot of people to the cold, hard facts of globalization.

[10512 214]

_{A few years ago, NYPD officers were complaining about the new Nissan radio cars.}

_{The funny part was, the Nissans were made in Tennessee while the Chevrolet Impala and the Crown Victoria were built in Canada.}

[provfd 49]

It's globalization, there is no way to avoid it and no easy way to assure anything with more than a single part is all US content. It's just the way it is. Anyone can slap a flag sticker on a product, it doesn't necessarily mean much.

[PCFD ENG58 1,085]

My father [ W-W 2 ] would throw you overboard if he saw you in a Coast Guard boat with Honda engines on it!

[msm232 69]

This should sum it up:

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), “Made in USA” means that “all or virtually all” the product was, indeed, made in America.

The agency enforces the standard to ensure commercial compliance and confirm consumer confidence.

For a “Made in USA” claim to be accurate, all significant parts, processing and labor that go into the product must be of U.S. origin.

Products should not contain any – or only negligible – foreign content.

Stay Safe...

[DashFlash 6]

I'd say "it depends." While buying American is certainly admirable, it can be amost impossible in many cases.

There are almost NO electronics made in the U.S. anymore. No TVs, no radios. The last of these were so inferior to the Japanese products that value-conscious Americans stopped buying them. The Japanese basically STOLE the designs from American companies....and them improved on them.

Which brings up another issue: is buying American more important than quality? Once upon a time NO ONE could beat American quality. Sadly, that's just not always the case anymore. For example, data indicates that the highest quality automobile you can buy today is the Honda Accord. Sad, but true. Cars, generators, even pressure washers now have Japanese engines in them.

Lastly, many companies claim their products to be "American made", but they are assembled using off-shore components, despite the requirements of the FTC. I don't know how they get away with it....maybe no one has reported them. I'm aware of a number of large emergency products companies in this category.

Police and Fire Store, LLC manufactures emergency lighting equipment under the Dash Flash® brand. We strive to utilize as many American workers as possible. Our products are engineered in the U.S. We use as many American components as we can, such as Cree LEDs. But we simply have no choice but to use many off-shore components because they are simply not available in the U.S. What we do is to ensure that those components are manufactured to our specifications and are only the highest quality. Dash Flash® products have a failure rate of only .1%. That's 1/10 of one percent.

I would like nothing better than for the American electronics industry to come back!