January 19, 2015 - The Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade, today issued the following statement:
“On behalf of hard-working Canadians and businesses that are being harmed by protectionist U.S. Buy America legislation that imposes U.S. content requirements on a project at the Port of Prince Rupert, British Columbia, we are disappointed by the State of Alaska’s decision not to seek a waiver from the U.S. Department of Transportation regarding these provisions.
“A waiver would have resolved this issue in a manner that would have allowed this project to move forward without delay.
“We have been clear: the application of protectionist Buy America provisions on Canadian soil is unacceptable and an affront to Canadian sovereignty.
“Therefore, an order has been signed under the Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act securing Canada’s right to prevent compliance with the Buy America provisions for this project.
“We remain committed to working with our U.S. partners to resolve this unacceptable situation and call on them to seek a waiver of the Buy America restrictions.
“However, we are prepared to exercise this order to defend Canadian interests.
“Buy America provisions deny both countries’ companies and communities the clear benefits that arise from our integrated supply chain and our commitment to freer and more open trade. We call upon our American friends to join with us to end the harm such policies are doing within our shared North American economy.”
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For further information, media representatives may contact:
Max Moncaster
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Ed Fast
Minister of International Trade
343-203-7332
Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada
343-203-7700
media@international.gc.ca
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