The Canada-U.S. Relationship Is All Smiles. For Now.

Inu Manak andColin GrabowIn his first bilateral visit with a foreign leader, President Joe Biden had a virtual sit ‐​down with Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The stakes were high, not least because Bidencancelled the permit for the Canadian ‐​backed Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office, forcing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to delicately balance his country’s economic interests and the need to rebuild a fractured relationship with the United States.Surprisingly, scant attention was paid during the meeting to the bilateral trade relationship and repairing damage suffered during the Trump years. Of particular note, Biden did nothing to address concerns over his executive order strengthening “Buy American” requirements for government procurement contracts, from which Canada has sought a waiver. The unwillingness to accede to this request was a missed opportunity that risks prolonging simmering tensions between the two countries.Buy America requirements for procurement contracts have been around since 1933. Deeming the current state of affairs under these requirements insufficient for his own version of economic nationalism, the Biden administration hasstiffened both them and the rules around how waivers are granted. Among these measures are a new means of measuring domestic content, an increased threshold for domestic content requirements for end products and construction materials, and increased price preferences...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs