Thursday, June 11, 2009
Canada lobbies Congress over Buy America
From the Hamilton Spectator (as a steel town newspaper, hardly a bystander in this arena), dated June 9th, 2009
Canada is launching a full court press in the U.S. Congress today against the Buy American provisions in the federal stimulus spending law.
[...]
The action is part of the ongoing campaign by our federal government to get the U.S. government to drop Buy America provisions that force U.S. municipalities and states to use American steel and manufacturing exclusively for projects paid by U.S. taxpayers.
The provisions are believed not to contravene international trade agreements because states and municipalities are sub-national jurisdictions and not subject to trade deals.
Sounds pretty weasily, doesn't it? Sure we have these NAFTA provisions, and they apply to you, but they don't apply to our states and municipalities. One wonders how Free Trade can have so many different meanings to different people.
Canada is launching a full court press in the U.S. Congress today against the Buy American provisions in the federal stimulus spending law.
[...]
The action is part of the ongoing campaign by our federal government to get the U.S. government to drop Buy America provisions that force U.S. municipalities and states to use American steel and manufacturing exclusively for projects paid by U.S. taxpayers.
The provisions are believed not to contravene international trade agreements because states and municipalities are sub-national jurisdictions and not subject to trade deals.
Sounds pretty weasily, doesn't it? Sure we have these NAFTA provisions, and they apply to you, but they don't apply to our states and municipalities. One wonders how Free Trade can have so many different meanings to different people.
Labels: free_trade, steel, stelco
