New Balance Is Closer to Winning a Buy-America Requirement for the U.S. Military
Nike would lose as American-made sneakers will become the Army standard.
A buy-American provision in the U.S. defense bill policy could spell a win for Boston-based shoe company, New Balance, according to Bloomberg. If passed, the Pentagon would be forced to purchase sneakers from the company in order to outfit military recruits. The near-decade debate comes from New Balance lobbying the government to follow a 1941 law that requires soldiers to only wear American-made products. The Pentagon and the White House’s opposition is of course the possibility of rising costs and recruits being injured for wearing shoes that are not an ideal fit. Maine independent Angus King says, “I am cautiously optimistic. It’s the right thing to do. I don’t understand why anybody would oppose American jobs.” As for Nike, who would be on the losing end of the decision, spokesman Greg Rossiter claims that, “As a U.S. company with 26,000 employees across the country, Nike believes our servicemen and women should continue to have access to the best possible athletic footwear to fit their foot type and to meet their training needs.” There are a lot of factors the Senate must consider to move the bill forward. While American-made seems like the right direction in order to reflect patriotic values, the notion of less choices for U.S. troops, high costs and safety concerns must also be taken into account.
