Cheatin’
Posted by SCapozzola on April 9th, 2008
AAM has launched an ad campaign throughout Pennsylvania tied to the upcoming April 22 primary. Titled “China Cheats, Pennsylvania loses,” the ads note that unbalanced trade with China has claimed more than 78,000 jobs in the Keystone State since 2001. A key point of the campaign is to push the presidential candidates to tell Pennsylvania’s voters exactly how they’ll address the dumping, subsidies, and currency manipulation that China uses to cheat on trade agreements.
Both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal have covered the ad campaign. The question now is whether the candidates will recognize the toll that China is taking on Pennsylvania jobs and explicitly state what they’ll do to end China’s cheating.
AAM is closely watching the candidates’ statement and is tracking their China-related and trade-related comments. You can follow their latest comments on our new CandidateWatch blog. We welcome your comments and feedback as well.
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April 14th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
I have been seeing your full page ads “China Cheats” and they have caught my eye. I always search for the Made in USA label before purchasing my products and have even returned items that I thought were Made in USA but were not.
But I have a big problem with USA companies that scream “China Cheats!” and ask everyone to buy their products because they are “Made in the USA” but don’t practice their own message.
I once said Harley Davidson sells all USA made products but have to change that statement. On a recent trip I found products with USA names on the products - Harley Davidson licensed products Made in China, Good Ol’ Boy Confederate Flag hats Made in Taiwan, John Deere toy trucks Made in China - the list goes on endlessly. And recently I saw shoes by Woolrich - Made in Dominican Republic and by Timberline Made in China.
So if these companies, presumable members of The Alliance for American Manufacturing, expect Americans to buy American Made Products, why do they persist in buying clothing, some sweatshop made, from foreign shops? There are several companies exist for example All American Clothing (www.allamericanclothing.com) that these “American” companies can buy products from. It is not like they (the USA companies) are selling the hats, shirts and jackets any cheaper since they are made in sweatshops.
And now York, Pennsylvania Peppermint Patties are going to Mexico too following the chocolate highway lead by another “American” company - Hershey of Pennsylvania.
It is hypocritical of these companies to say “Buy our USA products” but look the other way when it comes to them putting their names on crap! Tell your members to start practicing what they preach!
Buy American and sell American, or at least make sure your products are sweatshop free and certified as such. People notice these things and start questioning the whole “China Cheats” issue as just an advertising campaign.