Buy-American Rules Shutting Out Canadians

(The Toronto Star)

Growing Protectionism in U.S. Spells Disaster, Manufacturers Fear

A Toronto company that has been exporting pipe to the United States market for 60 years recently landed a contract to supply plastic piping for a new health-care centre at the Camp Pendleton Marine base in California.

But the piping is now being ripped out of the ground. Why? Because the pipes are branded with the words Made in Canada.

It’s just an early example of what some Canadians fear will be a plague of protectionist measures in the U.S. that could result in the loss of billions of dollars in sales and thousands of manufacturing jobs in Ontario and other provinces.

Despite reassurances by President Barack Obama, Buy America provisions that require the use of U.S.-made products are spreading and threatening to keep Canada’s suppliers from participating in the massive rebuilding project now under way south of the border, according to business experts.

“Camp Pendleton is a perfect example of how an excellent product, a brand new product, is going to be pulled out of the ground and be replaced by an American-made product,” said Veso Sobot, spokesperson for IPEX Inc., the Don Mills-based company that sold the pipe to the California Marine installation.

“We’ve never seen such a wave of protectionism as at this moment,” he said, adding that he’s also being pressed by project organizers in other states to certify that his pipes are all made in the U.S. – which they aren’t.

“Many Canadians believe the issue” of U.S. protectionism “was settled when (Obama) came into Canada back in February and made assurances that all is well. But it’s not,” Sobot said at a news conference organized by Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME). “This will lead to lost Canadian jobs if it’s not dealt with quickly.” Read more here.