jobs  for  British  work-ers,”  the  French  president  urged  French  car  compa-nies  to  invest  at  home  rather  than  elsewhere  in  the  European  Union,  the  government  of  Spain  launched  a  “Buy  Spanish”  campaign.  It  may  not  be  Smoot-Hawley,  but the global implications could be the same.   Answer in Case Analyis format. Is the Smoot-Hawley plan better or worse than “Buy American? Buy Spanish? Or British jobs for British workers?

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Buy  American!  Buy  Spanish!  British  jobs  for  British  workers!  The  ideology  of  economic  nationalism  seeks  to  implement  trade  policies  that  help  to  keep  jobs  and  investment  at  home,  while  ignoring  the  advantages  of  open  international  trade  and  invest-ment.  Economic  nationalism  was  popular  during  the  Great  Depression  of  1929–33,  when  it  served  to  protect  domestic  firms  from  international  competi-tion.  However,  this  led  to  curtailing  international  business  activity,  making  the  global  economic  slow-down  worse.  Widely  recognized  as  a  myopic  policy,  economic nationalism nevertheless re-emerged dur-ing  the  global  financial  crisis  that  originated  in  the  United  States  in  2008,  prompting  many  analysts  to wonder  whether  the  public  has  learned  anything  from international business history.Soon after the U.S. stock market crash of 1929, Willis Hawley  and  Reed  Smoot,  two  Republicans  in  the  U.S.  Congress,  sponsored  a  bill  to  raise  import  tariffs  to  the  highest level in U.S. history.21 Given the high rate of U.S. unemployment at that time, the bill was passed in order to  keep  jobs  at  home.  This  resulted  in  retaliation  from  other  nations  as  they  raised  tariffs  on  exports  from  the  United  States  and  other  countries.  The  net  result  was  a  ruinous fall in global trade and a worldwide depression.In  late-2008  and  early-2009,  when  the  United  States  faced the worst recession since the Great Depression, the call for a new round of trade barriers was being debated. However,  this  time,  the  focus  was  upon  inserting  non-tariff  barriers  on  items  in  the  American  Recovery  and  Reinvestment Act of 2009, which was meant to give the floundering U.S. economy a boost. This legislation, com-monly known as the “stimulus package,” included a “Buy American”  provision  that  restricted  government  spend-ing  to  U.S.  companies.  As  a  result,  public  works  such  as  infrastructure  projects  were  required  to  use  commodi-ties such as iron and steel that was domestically sourced, despite that these products cost more than imports from countries such as China. Similarly, the development and delivery  of  computerized  medical  records  would  be  restricted  to  domestic  IT  firms,  even  if  such  services  could be sourced at a much lower cost from India.Some  experts  argued  that  such  protectionism  may  violate  international  trade  rules,  and  U.S.  exporters feared  retaliation  against  their  goods  and  services.  Canada, in fact, soon threatened retaliation. Meanwhile, other  countries  moved  in  similar  directions.  The  British  prime  minister  talked  of  “British  jobs  for  British  work-ers,”  the  French  president  urged  French  car  compa-nies  to  invest  at  home  rather  than  elsewhere  in  the  European  Union,  the  government  of  Spain  launched  a  “Buy  Spanish”  campaign.  It  may  not  be  Smoot-Hawley,  but the global implications could be the same.

 

Answer in Case Analyis format.

Is the Smoot-Hawley plan better or worse than “Buy American? Buy Spanish? Or British jobs for British workers?

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