Some people might recall learning about the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, an economic maneuver that damaged international trade during the Great Depression. For some reason, House Democrats have decided to ignore the legacy of Smoot-Hawley and have developed their own version: the “Buy American” plan.

Under the “Buy American” plan, infrastructure projects commissioned by the stimulus bill (whenever that actually passes) would be required to use iron and steel made in the U.S. In other words, the plan is a thinly-veiled protectionist measure, which, as shown in the 1930s, has the potential to make the current economic downturn even worse.

When Smoot-Hawley was enacted in 1930, it had a catastrophic effect on international trade. In response to the high import taxes brought on by the bill, other countries raised their tariffs on American goods. All this tariff-raising resulted in world trade dropping by 66 percent during the first five years of the Great Depression.

To be fair, the “Buy American” plan is not as far-reaching as the 1930 debacle, which raised tariffs on 20,000 imported goods to preposterous levels. “Buy American” would only affect steel and iron, and according to the Peterson Institute for International Economics, could potentially create 1,000 new jobs in the steel industry.

The problem is “Buy American” could result in a loss of 65,000 jobs across the country. If I did my math right, that means the plan will result in negative 64,000 jobs — not exactly a promising statistic. However, a study performed by the Alliance for American Manufacturing claimed “Buy American” could potentially result in a net gain of 77,000 jobs. Personally, I prefer to believe the more depressing statistics provided by the Peterson Institute because the Alliance for American Manufacturing is probably a tad more biased given the fact they would benefit from “Buy American.”

Additionally, the “Buy American” provision sends the wrong message to the international community. The provision is obviously tinged with protectionism, something the European Union and Canada have picked up on, which is why they sent letters to Congress condemning the measure. The European Union threatened to retaliate against any protectionist actions taken by the U.S., which won’t help anyone.

It almost makes sense why no House Republicans voted for the stimulusplan. A provision like “Buy American” could potentially cause a lot of harm and could cancel out anything good the stimulus plan has to offer. What’s ironic is that the Democrats, who are usually viewed as more competent on economic issues, proposed the “Buy American” plan. Smoot-Hawley was an idea that contributed to the perception that Republicans are “worse” at fixing the economy. If the “Buy American” plan passes and the economy fails to recover anytime soon, the Democrats could soon be seen as the party that doesn’t know anything about economics or history, which doesn’t bode well for any Democrats up for reelection in 2010.

Personally, I support using American products, but I think companies should have a choice whether or not to use them. Without any choice in the matter, people might start believing the United States has a government-directed economy.

President Barack Obama has promised to reconsider some parts of the “Buy American” plan since it has produced such a backlash in the international community. Hopefully, he will live up to the promise so that at the least, he won’t be comparable to good old Herbert Hoover.

Aimee Sobhani is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Science. She can be reached at aimee.f.sobhani@vanderbilt.edu.