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Buy America
August 9, 2009
In recent months, “Buy American” provisions have crept into U.S. government policy at the state and municipal level. These provisions affect major Canadian manufacturers and smaller companies alike. While the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) binds national level governments from erecting trade barriers, it is not applicable to provincial/state or municipal level governments. As a result, many Canadian companies who sell their goods to American state and municipal governments have been prevented from doing so. At Hayward Gordon, a firm located in Halton Hills that sells industrial water systems (for sewage treatment systems, etc.), these “Buy American” provisions have resulted in a drop in their sales to the U.S.. Recently, Mayor Rick Bonnette raised awareness about this issue by successfully passing a motion at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities that called for Canadian products to be included in U.S. state and municipal stimulus spending.
Over the last number of months, our government has been working to convince the Americans to reverse these “Buy American” policies. We have taken every opportunity to urge the President of the United States to live up to their international trade and NAFTA commitments. Both in public, and behind the scenes, we have been working to persuade the Americans that these “Buy American” provisions are not in their interest or ours. International Trade Minister Stockwell Day and I have been working on this file, as has Prime Minister Harper. Recently, the Prime Minister voiced his concerns directly to President Obama at the North American Leaders' Summit in Guadalajara, Mexico.
During this time of global economic recession, it is crucial that all nations resist the temptation to move towards protectionism. Open and growing trade with others is crucial to Canada`s economy and to our economic recovery. Various nations responded to the Great Depression by enacting protectionist trade measures that led to spiralling retaliatory measures from other nations. In turn, this increased the depth and length of the Great Depression. This is a lesson we need not repeat again.
It is important that trade within Canada be improved as well. Believe it or not, there are more trade and labour mobility barriers within Canada, than there are among the member nations of the European Union. Provinces in Canada, and states in the United States, need to eliminate inter-provincial trade barriers. Our government is committed to eliminating these inter-provincial trade barriers, as we begin negotiations on a Canada-European Union free trade deal. It is crucial that Canadian provinces agree to that goal.
In coming days, International Trade Minister Stockwell Day will be meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk to seek exemptions for Canada from these “Buy American” provisions. In addition, the Prime Minister has indicated that he will, once again, raise these concerns at greater length directly with President Obama in their meeting at the White House in mid-September, as well as at the G-20 economic summit later that month. Our government understands the importance of this issue to the livelihood and jobs of thousands of Canadians, like Hayward Gordon in Halton Hills, and we are very focussed on working to ensure that the U.S. understands the our concerns and acts to resolve this issue.
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