Buy American: Easier said than done

[pksubs]

from Bloomberg:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...d=a_BYB9W44vPI

June 10 (Bloomberg) -- Cisco Systems Inc. and Alcatel- Lucent want “Buy American” provisions waived for a $7.2 billion U.S. program to expand high-speed Internet access, saying the rules are difficult to meet and undermine the economic stimulus program.

Requiring U.S.-made parts would be “grossly inefficient” and a “radical departure” from normal markets, said Cisco, the largest maker of networking equipment. The comments were filed with the U.S. agency running the broadband initiative, part of the $787 billion stimulus package.

The rules may slow projects the stimulus was meant to spur because telecommunications networks contain parts from around the globe, the two equipment makers say. Congress, seeking to boost U.S. jobs, said funds provided under the law passed in February generally can’t be used for iron, steel and factory goods that aren’t U.S.-produced.

“We’re talking about technologies that are no longer made in the United States,” John Marinho, vice president of public affairs for Paris-based Alcatel-Lucent, said in an interview. The company operates in 130 countries, and “you need a global scale,” he said.

[makimanos]

Re: Buy American: Easier said than done

A sad thing. Our brightest scientists are already out of the country. We only have Economic "genius".

[aaron]

Re: Buy American: Easier said than done

I work for a networking company. Our gear is made in the United States. I am sure we are not the only ones.

[makimanos]

Re: Buy American: Easier said than done

If we continue on hope , I see you in India.

[ThePythonicCow]

Re: Buy American: Easier said than done

I work for a networking company. Our gear is made in the United States. I am sure we are not the only ones.

Made in the United States from the sand up, or assembled in the United States from parts shipped in from all over the world, but especially the Far East?

[pksubs]

Re: Buy American: Easier said than done

Made in the United States from the sand up, or assembled in the United States from parts shipped in from all over the world, but especially the Far East?

My experience :
chips, boards and components are mostly made in the far east. Software can be split between the west and India, software QA would be largely in a low cost centre. Product assembly and test, also far east. The front office : marketing, sales, finance in the US, and core technical IP still resides in the minds of the US engineers. The US headcounts are getting proportionately smaller. With the recession, and corporate cash crunch, you can bet the bean counters will be busy 'reallocating' expense.

What I find interesting though, the market for consumer is shifting to the east : growth rates for computer sales for eg. Which means a shift in some front office functions.

[mcgurme]

Re: Buy American: Easier said than done

A sad thing. Our brightest scientists are already out of the country. We only have Economic "genius".

This is not true.... yet. Very few of our best & brightest scientists have moved overseas to date. That's not to say they won't as things get worse. While things had been deteriorating, the stimulus monies through NIH and NSF have temporarily slowed the decline here. Most of my scientific colleagues think this economic hiccup is "temporary" (they may be great scientists, but very few pay attention to matters of economics and such). When and if everyone gets the notion that it is not just a temporary thing, they may be looking for the Exit sign.