Does Wal-Mart love U.S. products?

Some companies are so big that anything they do makes news. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is one of those firms. So, when the world’s biggest retailer pledged it would buy an additional $50 billion of U.S.-made products over the next decade, I figured I should pay attention. The idea of all those Wal-Marts stuffed with American products is certainly appealing, since they sell A LOT of stuff.

In August, Wal-Mart held a well-publicized summit on its $50 billion idea, with 1,500 government officials, suppliers and retailers in attendance and some big names on the podium. The event’s tagline was “Here’s what we find beautiful: American jobs leading to American prosperity.” And, of course, Mom and apple pie are great, too.

But wait a minute. Isn’t it Wal-Mart that helped engineer the movement to move U.S. manufacturing jobs to China and other low labor-cost countries so they could get things cheap, cheaper and cheapest? Isn’t this the same company that helped kill thousands of mom-and-pop stores and hollow out the main streets of America? And didn’t it sponsor a “Buy America” program in the 1980s at the same time it was moving most of its sourcing overseas? Was this summit just a gimmick to improve Wal-Mart’s public image?

Let’s look at what was said. Bill Simon, president and CEO of Wal-Mart, announced the $50 billion pledge was “just the start.” He said Wal-Mart hopes to build a “network of support” by working with groups like the National Retail Federation, which helps manufacturers make products in the U.S. and helps retailers buy more U.S. goods. “We can’t become solely a service economy,” Simon said. “We have to make things in America.” Hard to disagree with that.

Jeff Immelt, chairman and CEO of General Electric, a panelist, said, “The U.S., on a relative basis, has never been more competitive in my career than it is now.” He announced GE would add 150 jobs to plants in Illinois and Ohio to develop high-efficiency light bulbs that will be sold in Wal-Mart stores in 2014.