Many US Flags are made in China and Mexico. That’s a shame. Some states are going to change this, and I think it’s a patriotic thing to do.

ROSEMOUNT, Minn. — At American Legion Post 65, visitors can drop off worn U.S. flags knowing they’ll be disposed of with the proper respect. On their way out, they can buy a new 3-by-5 flag for $20 or a 4-by-6-footer for $30.

Made in America, of course.

“That’s our flag. It belongs here in the United States; it should be made in the United States,” Air Force veteran Bob Racette said while fingering a flag in a corner of the legion hall bar.

By year’s end, a new law will require every Old Glory sold in Minnesota stores to be American made. It’s the latest and strongest attempt by states to stem imports of foreign-made U.S. flags.

In Arizona, schools and public colleges were required starting July 1 to outfit every classroom from junior high up with a made-in-the-USA flag. Tennessee requires all U.S. flags bought via state contract to be made here, and similar bills are moving forward in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

And this not so surprising fact:

The U.S. Census bureau estimates that $5.3 million worth of U.S. flags were imported from other countries in 2006, mostly from China. That figure has been steady over the past few years. The big exception was in 2001 when $51.7 million in U.S. flags were brought into the country, most on the heels of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Does the job of making an American flag qualify as one of those jobs an American won’t do?

Some good news though:

Sandy Van Leiu, chairman of the Flag Manufacturers Association of America, said the imports are cause for concern even though U.S. companies still dominate the flag market.

“That door is going to keep opening,” said Van Leiu, a sixth-generation executive at the family-owned Annin & Co., a 160-year-old business that supplies retailers like Wal-Mart. “It starts small, then it gets big. You’re just opening Pandora’s box.”

To help consumers identify the origin of their flags, the association created a certification program two years ago that bestows a seal-of-approval logo to flags made with domestic fibers and labor.

Look for the seal of approval for your next American flag purchase.

Of course some people point out the legal problems and international trade issues:

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.”

I think there would be an uproar if our country was taken to legal task over this. Indeed I would stand up and make some noise.
Wrapped in my American flag of course, that was made in the USA.

Others have a different perspective:

“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.

I never would have considered this aspect.

I make sure my flags are made in America and so should everyone else in my opinion. My daughters have flags from other countries they have visited and to be sure, these were all made in said countries. It’s the right thing to do- and it might help keep some Americans working.