'Buy American,' buy Canadian, too. - Chicago Tribune

[pampango]

"(T)he final Buy American provision was amended to uphold international trade agreements such as NAFTA and those under the World Trade Organization. Leaders of the United Steelworkers' Union also pleaded their case, asking for an exemption for Canadian-produced goods."

Interesting the the United Steelworkers' Union sought an exception for Canadian iron and steel for transportation projects. The article didn't say that it was the US or Canadian USW, or both, making the request.

"(T)here are loopholes. NAFTA does not apply to federal highway or mass transit projects, so any that are using the $111 billion allotted in the stimulus package for roads and transit systems would be required to follow the Buy American rules."

This exemption seems to be the continuation of the 1982 Buy America law passed under Reagan that was already an exception to NAFTA's procurement rules. (Thanks to Hello Kitty for posting that.) NAFTA would only apply to federal expenditures not related to iron and steel used in transportation projects. Otherwise, the Buy American rules apply.

"The Buy American provision is widely viewed as being aimed at those countries which do not have pre-existing agreements -- China, Brazil, India and Russia - and not at the neighbor to the North."

Since China, Brazil, India, and Russia (and more than 100 other countries) are not members of the WTO government procurement agreement and obviously not in NAFTA or other FTA, they do not get any protection from the Buy American provisions.

http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2009/02/buy_american_buy_canadian_too.html

[madokie]

1. I think we should try our best to buy as much south american product too

I'd rather it not be from a company who has outsourced their labor there though.

[pampango]

2. AFAIK, Chile and Peru are the only South American countries that can be treated like Canada

as far as bidding on stimulus projects is concerned. They are the only countries in SA with free trade agreements with the US. There are several in Central American - Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Mexico - that have similar status for the same reason, as does Aruba because it belongs to the WTO procurement agreement group.

The rest, I think, are in the same group with Brazil, China, Russia, and India in that they are fully subject to the Buy American provisions.

[Prometheus Bound]

3. Look at exports and imports to see the pattern

Top Canadian Exports to U.S.
1. Petroleum products …US$63.7 billion (21% of Canada to U.S. exports, up 6% from 2005)
2. Passenger cars … $36.6 billion (12.5%, up 1.5%)
3. Car parts & accessories … $15.6 billion (5.1%, down 2.5%)
4. Complete & assembled cars … $12.2 billion (4%, down 2.3%)
5. Aluminum … $7.7 billion (2.5%, up 36.1%)
6. Lumber … $6.6 billion (2.2%, down 8.9%)
7. Finishing materials (e.g. shingles, wallboard) … $5.9 billion (2.0%, down 10.7%)
8. Plastics … $5.8 billion (1.9%, up 7.9%)
9. Telecommunications … $4 billion (1.3%, down 0.7%)
10. Engines & parts … $3.98 billion (1.3%, down 8.6%)

Top Canadian Imports from U.S.
1. Vehicle parts & accessories … US$23.6 billion (10.3% of Canada from U.S. imports, down 1.5% from 2005)
2. Passenger cars … $13.1 billion (5.7%, up 8.1%)
3. Trucks, buses & special purpose vehicles … $11.8 billion (5.1%, up 16.6%)
4. Industrial machines … $7.5 billion (3.2%, up 9.4%)
5. Engines & parts … $6.4 billion (2.8%, up 3.3%)
6. Plastics … $6.3 billion (2.7%, up 5.9%)
7. Electric apparatus … $5.7 billion (2.5%, up 11.2%)
8. Computer accessories … $5.2 billion (2.3%, down 5.9%)
9. Industrial engines … $4.7 billion (2.0%, up 2.9%)
10. Iron & steel mill products … $4.3 billion (1.9%, up 7.2%)
http://internationaltrade.suite101.com/article.cfm/canadas_top_exports_imports

[pampango]

4. It looks like it's pretty balanced trade, except for our oil imports from Canada.

"Canada exported US$303.4 billion worth of merchandise to the United States in 2006, up 4.5% from 2005 and up 45% in just 4 years.

Canadian imports from the U.S. rose 8.7% to $230.3 billion in 2006, up 43.1% since 2002."

Our trade deficit in 2005 with Canada was about $73 billion. Of that $63.7 billion was the oil we imported from them. It looks like our imports from and exports to Canada have gone up around 45% since 2002. Also, other than our oil imports from them, we pretty much have a balance in our trade of manufactured goods. If we could somehow eliminate our oil imports it would be a nice trade balance.

[Prometheus Bound]

5. Right, and the US don't have much choice about importing natural gas.

Canada does pretty well in the auto trade, but they are mostly American companies and many of the components are made in the US.

[pampango]

6. You're right about the oil and gas. The US would have to import that whether NAFTA

existed or not.