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It’s a simple concept: American flags, a symbol of our nation, should be made in America. With a new law, signed by President Joe Biden last week, new American flags purchased by the federal government will be entirely made in the United States.
“The American flag serves as a symbol of our identity, resolve, and values as one people. To honor its significance, American flags should be made entirely with American materials and manufactured completely in the United States,” Sen. Susan Collins said in a statement to the Bangor Daily News editorial board. “This law will ensure that the symbol of our nation is preserved while supporting American jobs and manufacturers.”
Collins and Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio, were the chief backers of the bill, which was unanimously passed by the Senate in November 2023. It was passed by the House last week. It was signed into law by Biden last Tuesday.
“Because of our years of effort, American flags bought by the federal government will be produced and manufactured in America, by American workers with American materials,” Brown said in a statement on Tuesday. “The flags that fly over federal buildings and military bases will now be completely American made. And the flags given to families honoring their loved one’s service and sacrifice for our country will finally be completely made in America.”
Previously, American flags purchased by the federal government needed to contain at least 50 percent American-made materials.
While we are skeptical of “Buy America” provisions, which are often protectionism dressed up as patriotism, requiring that the federal government buy American flags that are made in America, of American materials, makes sense to us.
In 2017, the U.S. imported 10 million American flags. All but 50,000 came from China. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. census data, in 2015 the dollar value of U.S. imports of American flags was $4.4 million.
That’s a tiny fraction of federal spending, but buying flags from American producers goes beyond patriotism.
There are currently five major flag manufacturers in the U.S. Ensuring more American flags are purchased from them could boost their employment of workers here in America.
The oldest and largest U.S. flag maker is Annin Flagmakers, which has factories in Ohio and Virginia. The company, which was founded in 1847, has made the flags for every presidential inauguration since 1849. It also made the American flag that is on the moon and the flag raised by American Marines at Iwo Jima, an iconic image from World War II.
“There’s a sense of pride in what we do,” Jonna Smith, who works at the company’s factory in Coshocton, Ohio, told NPR in July.
“You can go down the street and see them hanging on the poles … And you’d be like, hey, I probably made that,” Smith said.
This new law means that more American flag makers will be able to say that about the American flags on display in the U.S.
