Canada will have to live with 'Buy American,' envoy says

[alp227]

Source: CBC News

There will be no exemption for Canada in the latest incarnation of the "Buy American" clause, according to the U.S. ambassador to Canada David Jacobson.

The stimulus bill U.S. President Barack Obama is fighting to pass says no government money can go to infrastructure projects unless "all of the iron, steel, and manufactured goods used in the project are produced in the United States."

In a lunchtime speech to a business crowd in Ottawa, Jacobson indicated his government is holding firm, despite Canadian objections to the clause.

"(President Obama) had to make a tough call. He had to introduce a bill that had some chance of passing. Hence the Buy American provision."

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/10/18/pol-us-ambassador-buy-american.html

[RaleighNCDUer]

1. Apologies to our northern neighbors, but we are trying to stimulate the

US economy, not the Canadian economy. Besides, Canada will fare far better by having a sound and robust American economy on their border than by getting a few contracts from the US.

[Posteritatis]

4. Sorta sucks for us, but agreed, fair enough in this case

And the Canadian economy isn't exactly a smoking ruin lately anyway; a bit more of that staying internal will be good for us (and annoy Harper, which is always a bonus).

[david_vincent]

2. This is payback for the Malaspina being held hostage

in Prince Rupert.

Not, mind you, that I'm saying the Canadians didn't have plenty of provocation - they did. But you don't hold a ferry hostage and expect no fallout, sooner or later.

[MedicalAdmin]

5. Using that logic, the US could expect to be bombed back into ...

... the stone age.

Tit for tat? Really?

[Muskypundit]

15. Hmmmm.... not so sure that is why that clause was put in there.

[MedicalAdmin]

3. It is WAAAAYYYYY past time for Canada to unhook it's wagon from the excited states of 'merica

Canada does a ton more for the USA than the other way around now. C'mon Canada, it's time to stand up and shift those resources where they are appreciated.

[virgogal]

6. Canadiens are Americans, North America is a continent,not a country.

Lots of other countries are American too.

[pampango]

9. Ain't nobody "American" but the USA, baby.

Grammatically, you are correct (in other words you are simply correct) but surely you know that in the USA "American" means one country and one country only. "Buy American" doesn't mean that we are restricting purchases to ourselves and our wonderful neighbors, just to "real Americans".

We may represent 10% of the population of the Americas, but we use the term in legislation as meaning citizens of the USA only.

So don't we pulling that "We're all Americans, too" crap on us. :) Nationalism forever!

[Darth_Kitten]

11. No, we are Canadian....

n/t

[pampango]

7. France may trust Germany now, but we'll be damned if we are going to cut Canada a break.

:)

[zalinda]

8. Yea, for Obama, one thing we can agree on. n/t

[snagglepuss]

16. You may want to mull some facts such Canada was the largest US goods EXPORT market in

2010 according to the Office of the US Trade Representative. Protectionism works both ways. It's not going to help the US if Canada retaliates.

snip

U.S. goods exports to Canada in 2009 were $248.2 billion, up 21.3% ($43.5 billion) from 2009, and up 116.9% from 1994 (the year prior to Uruguay Round). U.S. exports to Canada are up 148% from 1993 (Pre NAFTA). U.S. exports to Canada account for 19.4% of overall U.S. exports in 2010.

The top export categories (2-digit HS) in 2010 were: Vehicles ($42.1 billion), Machinery ($38.5 billion), Electrical Machinery ($24.7 billion), Mineral Fuel and Oil (oil and natural gas) ($12.5 billion), and Plastic ($11.2 billion).

U.S. exports of agricultural products to Canada totaled $16.9 billion in 2010, our 2nd largest U.S. Ag export market. Leading categories include: fresh vegetables ($1.6 billion), fresh fruit ($1.5 billion), snack foods (excluding nuts) ($1.5 billion), processed fruit and vegetables ($1.1 billion), and red meats, fresh/chilled/frozen ($1.1 billion).

U.S. exports of private commercial services* (i.e., excluding military and government) to Canada were $42 billion in 2009 (latest data available), 5.9% ($2.7 billion) less than 2008 but 146% greater than 1994 levels. The other private services (business, professional, and technical services, financial services, and insurance services) and travel categories accounted for most of the U.S. exports in 2009.



http://www.ustr.gov/




Imports

Canada was the United States' 2nd supplier of goods imports in 2010.

[zalinda]

20. We get a lot of stuff from Canada

including food. Actually when I started to read labels, I was surprised at how much came from Canada. At some point, you have to draw a line and saw that it is more important to help my family, who is suffering, than the family next door, who is making out okay.

If we were doing well as a country, I wouldn't mind as much, but we are struggling and it's time that we get a little selfish with government money. Now, if we could only stop these bloody wars.

zalinda

[snagglepuss]

22. The important point is that the US sells more of its goods to Canada then to

any other country. How will it help the US if Canada retaliates by limiting what it buys from the US?

[zalinda]

24. I don't think Canada would be buying steel from us

if they produce steel. Should we buy more from them and put more of our people out of work, just to placate them?

Oh, and I recently found out that some of the foreign workers who answer the customer service calls, are in Canada. When I gave one of them a hard time, he said, but I'm in Canada! So, there are Indian sounding workers in Canada, doing customer service calls. Oh, and it was a Canadian energy company that I was getting a call from. So, we are even buying their energy.

How much more should we buy from them?

zalinda

[msongs]

10. meanwhile our china made Martin Luther King Jr statue is unveiled in DC lol...hypocrites nt

[Psephos]

21. wow, ain't that the truth n/t

[davidwparker]

12. Bless O's heart.

He just gave a speech about an hour from my house about an hour ago. Suppose to me just up the street tomorrow.

[libinnyandia]

13. Canadian oil

And of course we we must make sure that we don't use any Canadian oil in the construction of infrastructure. Drill baby, drill off the Florida coast, everywhere we can. And since we won't be using Canadian oil, we'll have to raise the price of fuel here, but at lest we'll be "buying American".

[JDPriestly]

14. It's about time.

That means no steel from South Korea either, I hope.

[CHIMO]

17. U.S. ambassador to Canada says Buy America policy is good for Canada in long run

Source: The Canadian Press

OTTAWA - The Harper government rejected assurances offered Tuesday by the U.S. ambassador to Canada, who defended the controversial Buy American provisions in his president's new jobs bill.

Envoy David Jacobson told an audience of hundreds that President Barack Obama's $447-billion jobs legislation was good news for the economic recovery of both countries. He said it would get the U.S. economy back on track — and Canada's with it.

But International Trade Minister Ed Fast rejected Jacobson's overture, emphasizing the Tories' staunch commitment to free trade and breaking down all protectionist barriers.

"The view reflected in the ambassador's comments which seek to justify the 'Buy American' provisions from the proposed American Jobs Act is of concern," Fast said in an emailed statement to The Canadian Press.



Read more: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/us-ambassador-to-canada-says-buy-america-policy-is-good-for-canada-in-long-run-132062708.html?viewAllComments=y

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In the long run we are all dust.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

18. He's a right winger. What more could one expect? nt

[pampango]

19. To coin a phrase: "What's good for the US is good for Canada." n/t

[Heywood J]

23. I guess that piece of paper that says treaties are the supreme law of the land

really was deemed worthless. Well, I shouldn't say that. My first clue was when the Geneva convention and UNCAT were thrown out the window.