What Others Are DoingeHow You Can Help An Assured National Defense by Pat Choate (NAPSA)—In thefirst decade of the 20th century, “globalization” was a popular concept. Leading thinkers believed that nations having extensive trade with each other would never imperil those economic gains with war. Then came World War I. Amera ica quickly learned ™ _that “globalization” ~ J Choate means “dependent.” Almost overnight, the British blockade of German exports cut 90 ————_ percent of the U.S. supply of dyes, plus pharmaceuticals, and related chemicals needed to make explosives. Soon, aspirin was in short supply. Luminal needed to treat epileptic seizures was unavailable. A shortage of Novocain and other anesthetics forced doctors and dentists to operate without painkillers. Eventually, the U.S. government seized more than 13,000 German patents and licensed them to domestic producers. But the Germanshadoften left critical details out of their patentfilings, making their use difficult and sometimes impossible. President Woodrow Wilson, an ardent free trader, expressed the lesson learned about such foreign dependency in his 1919 State of the Union message to Congress: “The experiences of the war have made it plain in some cases too great a reliance on foreign supply is dangerous andthat in determining certain parts of our tariff policy domestic considerations must be borne in mind which are political as well as economic...Our complete dependence upon German supplies before the war made the interruption of trade a cause of exceptional economic disturbance.” Following World War I, the United States put high tariffs on many chemical imports and developed a strong chemical industry, which helped the Allies win World WarII. Today, the globalization lesson of World War I seemslost to this generation of leaders. U.S. companies are being encouraged to shift their factories offshore. U.S. defense contractors are being encouraged to buy components at the lowest price, regardless of where made. Consequently, thousandsof the components used in both U.S. commercial and military products come from China, the nations closely surrounding it, and other far awayplaces. For two centuries, Congress has safeguarded U.S. security by requiring that the Defense Department purchase certain vital goods only from factories operating in the United States. Earlier this year, Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-CA)of the House Armed Services Committee sponsored legislation, now approved in the U.S. House of Representatives, to expand those “Buy America”laws. Now’s the time for Chairman John Warner (R-VA) and the Senate Armed Services Committee to decide, as the House has, that a secure America dependson strong “Buy America”rules. Mr. Choate is director of the Washington, D.C.-based Manufacturing Policy Project.
