American vs. Cheap

[Jim Wintz]

I am in the auto industry, we provide stampings to the major car manufactures. We compete daily with companies all over the world. I would put our company up against any, but there has to be a chance for fair global competition. We loose stampings to China because our customers are buying a complete stamping from China including freight to the U.S. cheaper then we can even by the raw material here in the states to make the part. Not sure how they are doing this, sometimes their goverment subsidize the companies to get them the buisness and get their country rolling as well as helping pay for the utilities used ect.. ect... This gets into following all of the rules of the free trade agreement which we know they are not being followed, but that is up to our goverment to enforce to level the playing field. The statement is coorect that we (America) must find a way to deal with this situation because it is not going away. First it was Mexico, now China, if not China there will be another 3rd world country trying to evolve so we need to figure out how to compete and deal with it as well as level the playing field so it is fair. I think America can compete and win against anyone. Our company and buisness has dractically changed since the 201 steel tariff our goverment implemented a couple of years ago and now the China threat. We need to figure out how to keep the work and manufacturing here in the U.S. because once it leaves there is slim to no chance of it ever coming back.

Sometimes we create our own problems, we want to have the highest paying jobs but we want to buy the least expensive product. That doesn't work. The product cost more if you have an associate making it that gets paid $20.00 an hour as opposed to $1.00 a day. You go to Wal-Mart to buy a 19" color TV, the one made in China or Japan is $89.00 the one (if we make any here anymore) in America cost $150.00 which one are you going to buy?

To be able to be made in America we need to buy American made. Sorry to go on but this is a subject we deal with daily. And I don't want to see this nation get turned into a nation of burger flippers.

Jim