Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters: Canadian Businesses need a clear-cut exemption to Buy American Policy

OTTAWA, ON, July 29, 2021 /CNW/ - The U.S. Administration has released the details of its Buy American policy. They are proposing that goods bought by the U.S. federal government must contain 75 per cent U.S. made content by 2029, up from 55 per cent today. Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) is concerned that this move will hurt Canadian manufacturers that sell to the US Federal Government directly and manufacturers that are part of those procurement supply chains.

"Even though Administration officials say that Canada is not the target, and that WTO rules will exempt many Canadian manufacturers, past experiences with Buy American shows clearly that Canadian companies always get caught up in such policies. The Buy American chill is real, and without clear-cut exemptions from U.S. officials, that chill on working with Canadian companies will set in again" said Dennis Darby, President and CEO of CME.

Darby adds: "If there is a risk that dealing with a Canadian supplier will scuttle a government contract, or that there's too much hassle and paperwork to clear a Canadian supplier, that puts our manufacturers at a clear disadvantage, even if they are competitive on price, service and quality."

Of particular concern to manufacturers will be how many Buy American/America provisions will be included in the massive infrastructure bill currently being negotiated in the US Congress. "Canada does not enjoy WTO protection from state and local level procurement rules. The devil is in the details, and when we are talking about trillions of dollars in infrastructure projects, Canadian manufactures can lose out unfairly," warns Darby.

CME believes that a clear-cut exemption, like the one obtained from President Obama in 2008-2009 from their stimulus package, is the optimal outcome. We look forward to working with our government and partners again to achieve that end.

Quick facts

• The manufacturing sector represents more than 10% of Canada's gross domestic product.
• Manufacturers directly support more than 1.7 million jobs in Canada.
• The total manufacturing sales in 2019 surpassed $685 B.

SOURCE Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters