Do Consumers Really Care About Trump’s ‘Buy American, Hire American’ Ethos?

March 13, 2017 2:14 pm
Imagine How Pleasant Conversations Would Be Without Talk Of Trump
U.S. President Donald Trump, center, speaks during a joint session of Congress in Washington, D.C. (Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool via Bloomberg)
Do Consumers Really Care About Trump's 'Buy American, Hire American' Ethos?
U.S. President Donald Trump, center, speaks during a joint session of Congress in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017. (Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool via Bloomberg)

 

Since his campaign and right up through his latest speech to Congress, President Donald Trump has led the rallying cry of “buy American and hire American.”

But there are questions over whether consumers really care about where their products are made, and if businesspeople whom the president is  targeting are doing themselves an economic favor by keeping their business stateside.

In an interview with CNN Money, one businesswoman noted that she would have to pay more than double for manufacturing in Brooklyn, N.Y., as opposed to China. She told CNN that if she were to choose the former, it would “… [make her] look like a bad business person.” She added that she believes consumers don’t really make purchasing decisions because a product is made in the USA.

Citing an Associated Press–GFK poll from last year, CNN notes that while 75 percent of Americans do gravitate towards products made here, their first priority is to find products at affordable prices. For certain items like baby food, Americans lean towards domestically-produced brands—and would even pay more for them, per the Boston Consulting Group. But for clothes? Not so much.

Listen to President Trump reference his buy American/hire American ethos in his inauguration day speech.

—RealClearLife

 

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