"Buy American" Threatens Our NATO Alliances

President Trump’s “Buy American” proposal threatens the critical relationships we have with our allies, especially the other members of NATO. The alliance we have with the other 27 member-countries is built around tactical, logistical and developmental relationships. We have built those relationships, in part, through the exchange of technologies and tools that keep all of our military and intelligence services at the cutting-edge. These intricate networks help lower costs and make operations seamless.

President Trump talks – and tweets – about American might and American leadership. But we are not leading when our allies question where we stand. We have seen enough of that over the previous eight years. Yet that is the potential situation regarding warfighting, and defense-related equipment should “Buy American” go through as proposed. Another thing this Administration needs to consider is the message this will send to our allies. We should not fight in any major theater alone, and should Russia provoke a war, we will want – and in fact, need – our NATO allies to stand with us. However, we cannot morally ask them to put lives in the line while refusing to let their companies contribute technologies and systems that benefit all of us.

NATO allies have long sought to integrate and standardize as much as possible to get the best technology for the lowest price. The United States remains the dominant supplier, but we are not alone in the marketplace, either in terms of quality or delivering on-time. One example: a key Defense Department on the cusp of failure was saved when a Norwegian firm stepped up to rapidly qualify an alternative solution resulting in the recovery of the original program schedule. Other countries’ manufacturing does not take anything away from U.S. companies; it creates an important bridge between our equipment and that of our military partners. Going a step further, not only has Norway been a staunch partner since the origin of NATO, they have provided combat troops to our current fight since the early days in 2001.

The premise of the “Buy American” argument is that companies headquartered here lose out to foreign competitors. That is false. Our NATO allies build facilities here that hire American workers to support America’s defense. When we compete head-to-head with mass-produced goods, giving U.S. manufacturers a boost can be a good thing. But when it comes to high-tech defense systems, tightening those provisions could lead to our armed forces using inferior technology and equipment.

Proponents of “Buy American” have claimed that retaining a multi-national, multi-tiered supply chain creates opportunities for sabotage during manufacturing because we do not control every aspect of the process. Our allies have just as much reason as we do to ensure the safety and security of their companies. After all, their troops’ lives are on the line as well as ours’.

The 28 member-countries that comprise NATO – a tremendous expansion from the founding dozen – are committed to each other’s security. That alliance is much more than coordinating the movement of troops, ships, aircraft, and ground vehicles. We are bound to each other because we recognize the simple truth that when we stand together, we stand stronger. Strengthening the “Buy American” provisions will jeopardize that relationship, which is exactly the opposite of what President Trump should want to achieve for our military.

Geoff Davis represented Kentucky’s 4^th District in Congress. He is a West Point graduate and served on the U.S. House Armed Services Committee. He was the founding Chairman of the National Security Interagency Reform Working Group in the Congress.