Another nail in the coffin of the economic globalization era. As former Vice President Joe Biden, who presided over the last age of economic globalization under President Barack Obama’s wing, has outlined his economic plan, “Buy American.” Not to be confused with President Trump’s, “America First” message.

Joe Biden’s economic plan provides an alternative approach to economic nationalism. Biden, agreeing with policies typically espoused on the Right, believes the U.S. must take on China economically. A senior Biden campaign official told the press, “Joe Biden’s going to fight like hell for American workers through trade, enforcing deals and rallying the world to take on China’s abuses.”  Through a large investment into American made products and research, Biden believes it will be enough to spur American manufacturing and put pressure on China.

The “Buy American” plan, is centered around a $700 billion dollar investment into American products and research. Biden’s plan would require some federal funds to be set for domestic producers, including $400 billion dollars in government purchasing of U.S based goods and services. The other $300 billion dollars will be spent on research and development. According to campaign officials in previous statements, half of the money used towards research and development will be dedicated towards clean-energy initiatives.

Despite Biden’s past riddled alongside neoliberal cohorts and support of globalist policies, he has decided to stand against economic globalization, ushering in a continued attempt at bringing about economic nationalism to the world-stage. A senior campaign official on the Biden campaign team, told The Wall Street Journal that Biden will not willingly embrace past policies of economic globalization, “Even if Mr. Trump loses in November, allies shouldn’t expect Washington to return to the embrace of economic globalization that had defined the policies of the Obama-Biden administration and two decades of Republican and Democratic presidents who preceded it.” 

Biden’s call for a renewal of American manufacturing is reminiscent to Trump’s own rhetoric, in a summary of his plan they write, “U.S. manufacturing was the Arsenal of Democracy in World War II and must be part of the Arsenal of American Prosperity today, helping fuel an economic recovery for working families.”  

Biden’s insistence on combating China and spurring U.S. manufacturing is reminiscent to the economic nationalists on the right, notably, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO). Sen. Hawley, on a floor-speech stated that COVID-19 has exposed America’s dependence on China, “I think that this has exposed that China has too much of a hold on our economy, has taken too many of our jobs and the time to act is now.” In an op-ed in The Washington Post, Hawley called on Congress to protect the American worker during the pandemic, noting a desire for a return of American manufacturing, “And yet, for decades, an alliance of big government and big business conspired to outsource the manufacturing of our most crucial supplies and equipment to China and other overseas sites.” Senator Hawley’s rhetoric appears to have found audience on the left.

President Trump, notably, stood out in a crowded Republican race in 2016 for his rhetoric concerning China and trade deficits. Then, GOP presidential candidate Trump lambasted the political class for failing to stand up for American manufacturing and American made goods, “I have visited cities and towns across this country where one-third or even half of manufacturing jobs have been wiped out in the last 20 years. Today, we import nearly $800 billion more in goods than we export. We can’t continue to do that.”

President Trump ran successfully on the return of American manufacturing, while the results of this rhetoric remain doubtful, especially during a COVID economy.

Biden’s “Buy American” plan may symbolize the death of America’s economic globalization. This trend likely was accelerated by COVID-19, which has shown America’s reliance on Chinese supply-chains and production. Calls for the return of American manufacturing has become a popular idea. The rhetoric of President Trump and other economic nationalists appears to have won out.

The 2020 election boils down to “Buy American” or “America First.” Likely a confusing choice for voters.