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Tue 13 May, 2003 09:44 am
US Airways to buy jets
Posted: Tuesday, May 13, 8:46am EDT
In deals worth $4.3 billion, US Airways agreed to buy at least 170 small jets from Canada's Bombardier Aerospace and Embraer of Brazil, with an option for 380 more. The carrier emerged from bankruptcy March 31, and the 50- to 75-seat aircraft are central to its reorganization strategy of beefing up regional, short-haul routes.
I can't help but wonder why the airline did not "buy American" inorder to help the American economy and the American worker? After all it was the American worker through his tax dollars that is keeping the airlines afloat.
How much longer can the American economy survive without a viable and active manufacturing sector.
I think that the price is what dictated the choice. US Airways is a commercial company, and its main considerations may be reducing as far as possible operational costs.
steissd
Somehow I doubt that. I can't help but believe that one of our major aircraft companies could have been competitive. It is time for the government to take action to protect our major industries. The EU protects their aerospace industries.
I agree. The government may impose taxes on the foreign jets in order to make them less attractive for the domestic airways. But it cannot prohibit their purchasing, unless there are serious security flaws that do not conform requirements of the American standards.
By the way, some something similar occurs in Israel. IDF prefers to buy some goods in the USA, while there are domestic manufacturers (even the tea bags, stretchers, pineapple jam and individual wound dressing bandages used by IDF are made in USA); but this is rather a political decision, since American goods are not cheaper than the domestic ones of the same quality.
U.S. Trade Deficit 2nd Highest on Record
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. trade deficit widened in March to $43.5 billion, the second-highest on record, as imports of foreign-made industrial supplies, including crude oil, rose to an all-time monthly high. The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that the trade gap grew by 7.6 percent in March from February's deficit of $40.4 billion.
How long can an economy sustain this before the bubble bursts?
Well, I agree that some import tariffs should be revised; nothing much should be done regarding commodities (since this will make the domestically manufactured goods more expensive), but the goods that are manufactured domestically should get preferrence treatment in protecting their manufacturers from foreign competitors enjoying cheap labor.
steissd
I do not know if this has any relation with the purchase of the items you speak of. However have been the military industrial industry I know that when American systems are sold to foreign nations we {the government] had to buy or import a quantity of product from the customer nation. Have forgotten the exact term. Ours were ECM systems built for F-15, F-16 and the like. Sales of that equipment I should note was always through the US government.
Au, purchasing in the USA is one of the preconditions of rendering the financial aid for defense purposes (75 percent of approximately $2 billion is to be spent in the USA). But instead of buying in the USA only the items that are not being manufactured domestically (like the mentioned F-16 warplanes, M16 assault rifles or Apache helicopters) our military procurement sometimes buys things that can be obtained domestically for lower price. But this is justified by gaining ties in the U.S. business community.
Re: US Airways to buy jets
au1929 wrote:
I can't help but wonder why the airline did not "buy American" inorder to help the American economy and the American worker?
Because Canada's Bombardier Aerospace and Embraer of Brazil are the leaders in the market for this plane size. They are really the only players out there.
They are also mortal enemies, both nations accuse the other of protectionist measures and Brazil and Canada had a mini trade war over subsidy.
I was teaching Embraer employees when their rift with Bombardier broke loose. Brazilians hated Canada for a while (even though Canadians were largely unaware of the trade tensions between the countries).
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