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According to Lydia O’Neal with the International Business Times, President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order urging the U.S. to “buy American,” in part by encouraging the Departments of Commerce and State to prioritize American firms when they dole out lucrative contracts.

Unfortunately, a report released last week found, that the direction may not fulfill Trump’s second stated goal, which is to “hire American,” because most of the top American companies winning government contracts outsource thousands of their jobs.

Questions:
1. Of the 50 U.S. companies given the largest government contracts, how many shipped jobs overseas between 1995 and 2015?
2. Of the top 100 companies given the largest government contracts, receiving $176 billion in taxpayer funding in fiscal-year 2016, how many of these relied upon offshoring over those two decades?
3. Discuss the various positions offered in this article that would allow President Trump to put more weight behind his promises.
4. Do you agree or disagree that the “Buy American, Hire Americans” is a good strategy for the country in our global economy?

Source:
O’Neal, L. (2017). Buy American, Hire Abroad: Top US Contractors Are Outsourcing Jobs, Study Finds. The International Business Times, May 5 (Retrievable online at http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capital/buy-american-hire-abroad-top-us-contractors-are-outsourcing-jobs-study-finds)