Tourists visiting the Smithsonian may have to pay higher prices for souvenirs from the gift shop following demands by one U.S. senator that the museum sell only products made in the United States.

 

The changeover, set to take effect in July, was brought on after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) discovered during a recent visit that the Smithsonian was selling presidential busts manufactured in China. His complaints led to threats from a Rep. Nick J. Rahall II (D-West Virginia) to withhold funding for new construction unless the national museum stopped selling foreign-made goods.

 

Many of the most popular souvenirs are not American-made, including U.S. flag pins and coffee mugs bearing an image of the Washington Monument. Also, illustrated maps of Washington are designed in the United Kingdom, postcards of the Smithsonian Castle are from South Korea, and tie-dyed Grateful Dead T-shirts originate in Honduras. And Elvis Presley bobbleheads are made in China.

 

Some providers of foreign-manufacturer goods warn that switching to made-in-the-USA items will likely cost the Smithsonian more money—an increase that will be passed on to museum visitors, they warn.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Smithsonian’s ‘Made In America’ Mandate Not Easy to Achieve (by Ed O’Keefe, Washington Post)

Made in America: Smithsonian Promises to Sell More American-Made Souvenirs (by Jonathan Karl and Ben Forer, ABC News)