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Buy American, but think Global

     I am a strong believer in buying products that are made in the USA. Most of us have a hard time doing this. From a building stand point it is even harder to do.  I am happy that our federal contracts require us to specify materials that are manufactured in the USA.  This is a great way to stimulate the USA economy and put people to work.

     The language, however, does not require that all of the raw materials have to come from the US. While this promotes US manufacturing it does not promote a truly local supply chain. What this does is allow designers to specify wood from a protected forest where the habitat and resident species are legally protected. Which is more sustainable from a global point of view.

submitted by Suzanne Sowinski,
principal, SSA

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