State’s New Flag Law May Be Illegal
Remember when the DFL controlled state legislature made a big stink about flags being made in the USA? Turns out the new law may be violating international trade.
Whether Minnesota’s law violates international trade agreements — and whether anything would be done about it — is an open question.
Under World Trade Organization standards, the U.S. government can’t treat foreign products less favorably than those produced within its boundaries, said Peter Morici, a business professor at the University of Maryland and the former chief economist for the U.S. International Trade Commission. How the rules apply to states is debatable, he said.
Morici said a foreign business harmed by the law would have to get its government to take action against the U.S. government. Robert Litan, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution think tank, said while the likelihood of Minnesota’s law sparking a dispute is slim, the symbolic message is hard to miss.
“It’s symptomatic of an anti-foreign bias moving through the country right now. It would not surprise me if other states copied it,” Litan said. “It’s hard to oppose politically.”
Ah yes, America, land of the free, home of the protectionist.
When the bill was debated this spring, some legislators argued it sent the wrong message to close Minnesota’s borders to foreign-produced flags.
“That flag should be made throughout the world because it is our message to the world that there is hope for freedom and justice,” Republican Rep. Dan Severson said at the time.
The law’s sponsor, Democratic Rep. Tom Rukavina, said the flag deserves extra protection. To celebrate his legislative victory, he plans to hand out 1,000 miniature flags at Fourth of July parades in his district.
“The biggest honor that you can give the flag is that it be made by American workers in the United States of America,” he said. “Nothing is more embarrassing to me than a plastic flag made in China. This replica of freedom we so respect should be made in this country.”
The new law doesn’t spell out a penalty for violators. In Minnesota, the default punishment for prohibited acts is a misdemeanor offense, carrying up to a $1,000 fine and 90 days in jail.
So Minnesota is just gonna have to hope that no foreign company challenges the law. Sure the bill “sounds” good, but it is a sign of something that is growing in this country again.
Protectionism
Folks, that is a bad thing. We have scores of laws that try to protect domestically produced goods, but that not only removes competition (which is good for the consumer), but sends the wrong message to the world (you’re not welcome).
Other countries can do the same in return to our American goods made for export.
This is the result of the nanny state mentality that has taken root in the Minnesota legislature, run by liberal DFLers. They think government is supposed to pass laws regarding each and every thing in our daily lives.
America has tried to isolate itself from the world in the past, and it did not turn out well.
This anti-free trade and protectionist mentality is going to come back to bite us if we don’t put an end to it before it is too late.
