Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer (Labor) has asked other ministries to think twice before buying overseas. “Buying ‘blue and white [Israeli]’ products is an important tool to encourage Israeli industry and the economy,” he said.
He praised Public Security Minister Yitzchak Aharonovitch (Yisrael Beiteinu) for extending by 18 days the time for a Prison Services contract for uniforms that was about to be issued to an overseas company.
The minister told the Prisons Services to re-examine its conditions and take into consideration the possibility of buying the clothes in Israel, where the textile industry has suffered at the hands of companies in China and other Asian countries.
Ben-Eliezer also has told regional and municipal leaders to try to purchase more domestic products instead of buying outside the country. His ministry also is dealing with manufacturers’ complaints of discrimination and unreasonable conditions in tenders that are issued by government agencies.