Look I am a free trade guy. But if a government contract is up for grabs and it is between an American company and a Brazilian company that is heavily subsidized by the Brazilian government, I really don’t feel like we are talking about free trade anymore.

The Department of Defense wants a new plane that can be counted on to provide light attack duty and reconnaissance work. They narrowed the bids down to two companies- the American Hawker Beechcraft and the Brazilian Embraer. More on this from American Legislative Exchange Council:

As early as June 2011, the Department of Defense will decide between two competing aircraft to conduct light attack and armed reconnaissance (LAAR) and light air support (LAS) missions – the Hawker Beechcraft AT-6 and the Embraer Super Tucano.  From the perspective of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) the decision is clear.  Both aircraft are mission appropriate and cost roughly the same.  However the acquisition of Hawker Beechcraft’s AT-6 has the added benefit of upholding ALEC’s free-market principles and creating significantly more American jobs – 1,400 spread across 18 states…

Hawker Beechcraft is an American company headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, while Embraer is a Brazilian company.

…Embraer is heavily subsidized by the Brazilian government and is being supported by their Financing Agency for Studies and Projects (FINEP), which is helping to fund the research and development of this fleet.

So, if the cost is roughly the same, as is the quality and effectiveness of the planes–this should be a pretty easy decision to make. I hope that the Department of Defense does the right thing and picks Hawker Beechcraft.