Trump signs 'Buy American, Hire American' order

President Donald Trump is ordering the government to bolster protections for US-made goods and reform a visa program for foreign workers. He signed the order after touring a factory in Wisconsin.

Trump announced the new executive order, instructing federal agencies to protect US-manufactured goods from foreign competition and review the H-1B visa program for foreign workers, in a speech at Snap-on Tools in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

“Widespread abuse in our immigration system” allowed companies to replace American workers by foreigners, at lower pay, Trump said, announcing a reform of the H-1B visa program. “This will stop.”

“For too long we’ve watched as our factory have been closed and our jobs have been sent to other, faraway lands,” Trump said, bringing up the number of 70,000 factories since China joined the World Trade Organization.

“In this election, the American people voted to end the theft of American prosperity. They voted to bring back their jobs and bring back the American dream.”

Federal rules on buying US-made products have been “gutted by excessive waivers and reckless exemptions,” Trump added, resulting in jobs lost to “cheap, subsidized and low-quality foreign goods.”

“American projects should be made with American goods,” the president announced. “We are going to investigate every single trade deal that undermines these provisions.”

Trump also vowed to protect Wisconsin’s dairy farmers, promising “fair trade with all our trading partners… and that includes Canada!”

“We are going to get rid of NAFTA once and for all,” Trump announced, hinting at upcoming “big changes” on trade deals, tax reforms, and healthcare overhaul.

READ MORE: Trump tells American firms to look for China alternatives ahead of first meeting with Xi

A narrow victory in predominantly Democratic Wisconsin gave Trump a decisive edge in electoral votes over his rival, Hillary Clinton, in last November’s presidential election.

“Buy American and Hire American” is not just a slogan, but a “cornerstone” of Trump’s vision for the American government, the White House said on Tuesday, noting that his was the first administration in decades that “answers to the American workers who built this country.”