“We applaud the U.S. and Canadian governments for reaching an agreement that lays the foundation for settling the ‘Buy America’ dispute. The announcement made today helps expand reciprocal access to procurement markets in both countries and further the dialogue on this issue,” said NFTC President Bill Reinsch. “The U.S. economy and the American people are ill-served by these ‘Buy America’ provisions. Instead of helping to boost economic recovery and create jobs, ‘Buy America’ and policies similar to it have the potential to delay and increase the cost of U.S. public works projects. Perhaps more economically significant than that, these provisions also have the potential to endanger U.S. exports and jobs when other nations retaliate with their own ‘buy national’ initiatives.”
“A robust U.S.-Canada economic relationship is vital to achieving the goals of increasing U.S. exports and creating jobs, which is why today’s announcement is so important,” said Chuck Dittrich, NFTC Vice President for Regional Trade Initiatives. “It is critical that the United States leads by example in the international community by rejecting these ‘Buy America’ policies. We urge Congress and the Administration to instead pursue a concerted effort to increase U.S. exports by passing the pending free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea, and initiating new market-opening initiatives for U.S. goods and services, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. Efforts like these are what will help the U.S. economy to recover more quickly and create jobs.”
About the NFTC
Advancing Global Commerce for 95 Years The National Foreign Trade Council is a leading business organization advocating an open, rules-based global trading system. Founded in 1914 by a broad-based group of American companies, the NFTC now serves hundreds of member companies through its offices in Washington and New York. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. 
