[CTC] Rally staged in Tokyo to protest Japan’s entry into TPP talks

[Arthur Stamoulis]

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2013/03/03/john-ivison-trans-pacific-partnership-talks-provide-opportunity-to-put-an-end-to-buy-american-protectionism/

John Ivison: Trans-Pacific talks provide opportunity to put an end to  
Buy American protectionism
When trade negotiators for the Harper government sit down in Singapore  
Monday for talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a bid to create a  
new free trade zone in the Pacific, they’ll also be trying to solve  
once and for all a lingering problem closer to home: Buy American  
protectionism in the U.S.
Years of political gridlock in Washington, exemplified by last week’s  
forced spending cuts or so-called sequester, have had a hidden upside  
for Canada. Many failed bills that would have authorized the spending  
of billions of dollars on public infrastructure would also have frozen  
Canadian companies out of U.S. markets by expanding protectionist  
measures.
Legislation such as the American Jobs Act, which did not pass  
Congress, would have aggravated an irritant that many Canadians likely  
thought was resolved in a deal with the Obama Administration three  
years ago, when Canada received an exemption from most protectionist  
provisions in the President’s stimulus spending act.
But Buy American is back and threatens to become a recurring feature  
in all public works spending bills, with major implications for jobs  
and investment in Canada.
This week’s 16th round of TPP talks are just the second attended by  
Canada and Mexico, who were invited by President Barack Obama to join  
the U.S., Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru,  
Singapore and Vietnam.
The TPP represents the most comprehensive trade negotiations between  
Canada and the U.S. since the conclusion of the NAFTA and it is viewed  
within the Canadian government as an opportunity to resolve issues  
that remain outside the scope of that deal.
NAFTA does not apply to many public works projects because, although  
the funding is federal, the money is transferred to the state or  
municipal level, where local governments are free to source suppliers  
locally. The U.S. government undertook $170-billion in non-defence  
procurement in 2010 but Canadian contractors are finding themselves  
shut out from an increasing share of that business — or are relocating  
their operations and jobs to become Buy American compliant.
Novabus, the St. Eustache, Que.-based bus subsidiary of Volvo, built  
an assembly plant employing 200 people in Plattsburgh, NY, in part  
because of Buy America provisions.
The only way Novabus could sell buses to transit authorities in the  
U.S. that use public funds, was to assemble those vehicles in the  
States.
The bottom line is that if the Americans get back to passing spending  
bills, they will all include Buy American-type provisions
John Hayward, president of Halton Hills, Ont.-based pumping equipment  
manufacturer Hayward Gordon, said there is a resurgence in Buy  
American sentiment in the U.S. “It’s a falsehood that it was resolved  
in 2010. That was an 11th hour deal of minimal benefit that was only  
associated with the [American Recovery and Re-investment Act] spending  
bill. That has long expired and has no effect any more.
“The bottom line is that if the Americans get back to passing spending  
bills, they will all include Buy American-type provisions. Something  
has got to be done about it long-term, which underscores why it’s so  
important for the government to take the opportunity with the TPP.”
Hayward Gordon built a new factory in Halton Hills in 2006, so Mr.  
Hayward said his firm doesn’t have the option of re-locating south of  
the border. But he is in no doubt that other companies will.
The Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters organization has lent its  
voice to calls for the Canadian government to take a hard line on Buy  
American at TPP negotiations.
It said that the goal for Canada should be a comprehensive exemption  
from “buy national” restrictions. “Otherwise it will be difficult to  
support the conclusion of a negotiated TPP agreement that requires the  
government of Canada to make concessions to the U.S.”
The U.S. government is likely to lobby for a further tightening of  
intellectual property rules and the end to Canada’s supply management  
system that restricts imports of dairy and poultry products through  
high tariffs.
Failure to strike a deal on Buy American would lead to calls for  
retaliatory measures on sub-national infrastructure projects in  
Canada, the CME said. “We will have no option but to press our  
governments, federal and provincial, to provide a level playing field  
to Canadian companies,” it said in a briefing note.
National Post

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