Narrator: Sparking new life into the US economy. That's the intention of this bill, and it couldn't come fast enough for businesses like this wire products factory in Baltimore, Maryland.
Drew Greenblatt: America is almost like a punch drunk fighter, and we need smelling salts. And I think this is going to revitalize us, get us rolling again. And uh we just needed something to say, okay, time to get out of the slumber, time to get to work again.
Narrator: But this factory floor doesn't survive and thrive in isolation. In the last week alone, Drew told me he's done deals with firms in Belgium, Argentina, and Japan. And he's giving orders to foreign suppliers.
Drew Greenblatt: Behind me, uh we have Japanese robots, we have German robots. Uh we're getting, we're poised to buy a couple Italian welders.
Narrator: For a port city like Baltimore, the first priority is jobs, and that means customers here and abroad. Businesses like Marlin depend on goods going both ways, in and out of the city docks. It's all about global trade. And that's why President Obama's bid to revitalize the US economy is being closely watched around the world.
Economist/Analyst: Well, I think the entire world is watching. I mean, US demand has really driven a lot of world growth. Whether this package is big enough or it's going to be timely enough to have that is something many economists are skeptical about, but it could be a big first step in terms of helping to put the US on the right track.
Narrator: But because the bill is focused on American jobs, global competitors like China will lose out from its Buy America provisions. Indian commerce too will be barred from much of the benefit of stimulus spending. Even for close allies like Canada, where President Obama makes his first foreign trip this week, there are calls for him to focus more on the flow of trade across borders.
Canadian Representative/Analyst: It's a billion dollars a day on average that goes across our border. So the stimulus package really affects Canadian companies as well as US companies, and that they're completely relying on each other. We are literally in the same boat together.
Narrator: In Baltimore, across America, the politicians who passed this bill have their constituents interests at heart, not that of competitive nations. But with output down across the world, there might be a mutual interest in simply staying afloat
