To characterise this as a victory for Hoist is surely disingenuous - if the kit offered the best value, wouldn't it have won the tender in the first place?

This is more a victory for protectionism over free trade and the fact this law originates from the 1930s says a lot about how out of date it is in these multi-national, inter-connected times.

If local markets favour locally produced equipment, then fair enough, but regulation should make it a level playing field for everyone, and not prop up inefficient or out-moded production practices.

In any case, it only prompts ****-for-tat measures which do more harm than good. Hence, the collapsing US export market after 1930 helped to set off a decline in American industry.

If the contract really does help save jobs then great, but that might be stretching it a little - this award is said to "support almost 40 jobs" at Hoist.

Doosan directly employs 38,500 people in 33 countries. Some are direct US employees. Other are employed at US distributors.

Are 40 of those jobs more important than the 40 at Hoist? Who can say? And isn't that the point?