Walmart Pledges to Sell American-Made Products

We recently received a tip from reader Michelle Amazeen, Assistant Professor of Advertising at the College of Business Administration at Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Walmart has recently pledged to buy an additional $50 billion in American-made products over the next 10 years. CEO Bill Simon says:

We understand there will be questions about Walmart’s participation in this effort, fueled by the myth that our shelves are filled with foreign products. In fact, according to data from our suppliers, items that are made here, sourced here, or grown here account for about two-thirds of what we spend to buy products at Walmart U.S.

The wording of his statement is slippery; two-thirds of items are “made here, sourced here, or [emphasis added] grown here.” That could mean, for example, that an item can be made entirely from foreign parts but assembled in the U.S., or grown here but packaged and processed abroad. Simon does not clearly define what he means by “American-made” products, and as we all know, an unclear definition is no definition at all.

See our article on products “made in the U.S.A.” for more information.