'Buy American' Bill Won't Give Canada an Exemption

The American ambassador tells Canada to deal with it (well, not literally) for the sake of getting Obama's jobs bill passed.

It looks like the U.S. means it this time with the "Buy American" provision in Barack Obama's American Jobs Act, as American ambassador David Jacobson said today that Canadian businesses hoping for some sweet, sweet stimulus dollars won't get an exemption from the clause. The Buy American clause says all steel, iron, and manufactured goods used in the stimulus bill must be entirely produced in the U.S. Previous such amendments in stimulus bills had granted exemptions to goods coming from Canada, but Jacobson says that won't be the case for this bill. Free trade advocates on either side of the border have criticized such measures as being overly protectionist. Jacobson explained that keeping the clause as is will help the bill get through the Republican-dominated House of Representatives, adding that the bulk of the bill's $445-billion tab comes mostly from tax cuts and not stimulus spending.