Local View: ‘Buy American’ should include US mining – by Michael Stumo (Duluth News Tribune – February 11, 2021)

https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/

Michael Stumo of Sheffield, Massachusetts, is CEO of the Coalition for a Prosperous America.

As President Joe Biden confronts the economic damage of the COVID-19 pandemic, federal Bureau of Labor data show that more than 10 million Americans are unemployed.

Restoring these jobs will be a high priority for the new administration, particularly in sectors like manufacturing that have been hit hard by the coronavirus.

Helpfully, Biden has already taken a key step to support U.S. manufacturers with his recent executive order to expand federal “Buy-American” policies. Implementing strong “Buy-American” rules for federal contracts can help to get U.S. manufacturing back in gear.

However, the effort could prove incomplete if it doesn’t include the building blocks needed to support America’s industrial base. At issue are the metals and minerals on which U.S. manufacturers depend.

Right now, these resources largely come from unreliable overseas supply chains and are often produced under appalling labor and environmental standards. In response, the president should aim to include “Mined in America” in his overall “Buy-American” agenda.

For the rest of this column: https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/opinion/columns/6877786-Local-View-Buy-American-should-include-US-mining