„Buy American and Hire American“: Es geht los – wie antwortet die EU?

FMW-Redaktion

Nun geht es also wirklich los. Präsident Trump hat gestern sein „Dekret“ zum Thema „Buy American and Hire American“ veröffentlicht. Es ist eines seiner Leit-Mottos aus dem Wahlkampf. Kauf amerikanisch, stelle Amerikaner ein. Der Inhalt seines Dekrets ist klar. Dort werden sämtliche Bundesbehörden, Minsterien und Funktionäre aufgefordert in den nächsten 150 Tagen alles zu durchforsten und Vorschläge zu machen, wie man sicherstellen kann, dass in Zukunft Regierungsaufträge nach Möglichkeit nur noch an Firmen mit Sitz in den USA gehen. Dabei zielt Trump auch auf die gesamte Fertigungskette ab. Nur mit einem Endprodukt „Made in USA“ wird man sich in diesem Fall nicht mehr zufrieden geben.

Donald Trump. Foto: whitehouse.gov

Hier wird man wie das Dekret es sagt darauf achten, dass die ganze Fertigungskette oder zumindest ein großer Teil davon wirklich in den USA beheimatet ist. Ein Gesetz ist dieses Dekret nicht, sondern wie so oft in den letzten Monaten eine Art generelle Aufforderung an den gesamten Regierungsapparat. In diesem Fall aber muss man sagen: Die US-Regierung ist mit ihrem Monster-Budget der Auftraggeber Nummer 1 in den USA. Und wenn Trump nach diesen 150 Tagen konkretere Maßnahmen erlässt (wovon man ausgehen darf), wird es zu Einschränkungen für Exporte kommen, die bisher Endprodukte oder Grundstoffe in die USA verschiffen. Wie es aktuell im Dekret heißt, seien in der Vergangenheit einfach zu viele Aufträge an ausländische Firmen gegangen, was zu Lasten von Fabriken und Arbeitsplätzen in den USA gegangen sei. Man sende mit diesem Dekret aber ein starkes Signal in die Welt.

Die Frage aus EU-Sicht lautet: Gibt es bereits eine Art Grundsatzidee oder Strategie auf EU-Ebene, wie man darauf reagieren wird? Denn wenn der gesamte US-Staatsapparat demnächst dazu angehalten ist weder direkt noch indirekt in der EU hergestellte Erzeugnisse wie zum Beispiel Stahl zu kaufen, sondern nur noch in den USA hergestellte Produkte, dann ist das eine eindeutige Marktverzerrung/Benachteiligung, auf die man seitens der EU-Kommission eigentlich wettbewerbsrechtlich in irgendeiner Art und Weise reagieren müsste. Lässt man sich das gefallen, oder hat man schon irgendeine Idee, was man dazu antworten will? Da wir es nicht wissen, haben wir heute früh bei der EU-Kommission genau hierzu eine Anfrage gestellt.

Hier auszugsweise interessante Passagen des Dekrets im Original sowie Statements dazu von Donald Trump:
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Presidential Executive Order on Buy American and Hire American

EXECUTIVE ORDER

BUY AMERICAN AND HIRE AMERICAN

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and to ensure the faithful execution of the laws, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Definitions. As used in this order:

(a) „Buy American Laws“ means all statutes, regulations, rules, and Executive Orders relating to Federal procurement or Federal grants including those that refer to „Buy America“ or „Buy American“ that require, or provide a preference for, the purchase or acquisition of goods, products, or materials produced in the United States, including iron, steel, and manufactured goods.

(b) „Produced in the United States“ means, for iron and steel products, that all manufacturing processes, from the initial melting stage through the application of coatings, occurred in the United States.

(a) Buy American Laws. In order to promote economic and national security and to help stimulate economic growth, create good jobs at decent wages, strengthen our middle class, and support the American manufacturing and defense industrial bases, it shall be the policy of the executive branch to maximize, consistent with law, through terms and conditions of Federal financial assistance awards and Federal procurements, the use of goods, products, and materials produced in the United States.

(b) Hire American. In order to create higher wages and employment rates for workers in the United States, and to protect their economic interests, it shall be the policy of the executive branch to rigorously enforce and administer the laws governing entry into the United States of workers from abroad, including section 212(a)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(5)).

(b) Within 150 days of the date of this order, the heads of all agencies shall:

(i) assess the monitoring of, enforcement of, implementation of, and compliance with Buy American Laws within their agencies;

(ii) assess the use of waivers within their agencies by type and impact on domestic jobs and manufacturing; and

(iii) develop and propose policies for their agencies to ensure that, to the extent permitted by law, Federal financial assistance awards and Federal procurements maximize the use of materials produced in the United States, including manufactured products; components of manufactured products; and materials such as steel, iron, aluminum, and cement.

(c) Within 60 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Commerce and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Labor, the United States Trade Representative, and the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council, shall issue guidance to agencies about how to make the assessments and to develop the policies required by subsection (b) of this section.

(d) Within 150 days of the date of this order, the heads of all agencies shall submit findings made pursuant to the assessments required by subsection (b) of this section to the Secretary of Commerce and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

(e) Within 150 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Commerce and the United States Trade Representative shall assess the impacts of all United States free trade agreements and the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement on the operation of Buy American Laws, including their impacts on the implementation of domestic procurement preferences.

NEEDED REFORM TO SUPPORT AMERICAN WORKERS: Rules associated with America’s trade deals and immigration policies unfairly place American companies and workers at a disadvantage.

Unfair Procurement Rules Work Against American Companies: A February 2017 report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) suggests the United States is not getting its fair share of the global government procurement market through the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA).

Data from 2010 – the last year available – shows that while foreign-owned firms obtained $837 billion in contracts from the United States Government, American-owned firms received just $381 billion from the next five largest countries with which we have trade agreements.

A BUY AMERICAN AGENDA: President Donald J. Trump is taking action to enforce laws promoting American industry.

Today, President Trump signed an executive order promoting American industry and protecting it from unfair competition.

This Executive Order targets the abusive use of waivers and exceptions that undermine “Buy American” laws meant to promote taxpayer money going to American companies. This Executive Order:
Instructs every agency and department to conduct comprehensive assessment aimed at cracking down on weak monitoring, enforcement, and compliance efforts to strengthen Buy American policies.
Targets waivers and exceptions that have allowed foreign goods unfair advantages in U.S. government procurement.

Orders that America’s involvement in the WTO’s Agreement on Government Procurement and other trade deals be reviewed to ensure they meet the President’s standards.
For the first time, the Buy American bidding process must take into account unfair trade practices.
Promotes American-made steel by affirming the “melted and poured” standard for steel production in the United States.
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Quelle: whitehouse.gov