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Canada’s oil-dependent regions are already upset with new US President Joe Biden over Keystone XL’s demise. But the plans of an upcoming ‘Buy America’ order have left even more Canadian businesses worried.
On the lines of his promise on the ‘Buy America’ agenda from his campaigning days, President Biden is expected to sign an executive order this week which urges federal agencies to buy goods and services from companies based in the US.
Canadian foreign minister Marc Garneau said in a recent interview that he expects the Biden administration to have a chat with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau before anything is finalized. The Canadian government is also likely to push back as the ‘Buy American’ provisions which could harm the two nations’ billion-dollar trade relationship, Garneau said.
Canada & US Trade Relations
Statistics noted by the US State Department show that neighbors Canada and the US traded goods and services of worth nearly US$ 2 billion a day in 2019, taking the yearly total to US$ 725 billion. The two border-sharing countries are each other’s largest export markets and have what the US State Department calls “the most comprehensive trading relationship” around the globe.
©Kalkine Group 2021
Canada is the US’ single biggest foreign supplier of energy, while its uranium mines also help fuel nuclear power plants south of the border.
The trade relations between the two allies had hit a rough patch last year when former President Donald Trump reimposed tariffs of Canadian aluminum products. When Trump was almost out the door, many Canadian businesses were looking forward to Democrat Joe Biden’s presidency. But that dream was slightly dented, too, when the new president revoked the expansion order of Alberta government-funded Keystone XL pipeline.
Now, with the ‘Buy America’ plan around the corner, Canadian businesses could take another hit. Some trade experts have voiced their concerns regarding the matter, saying that if Biden’s ‘Buy America’ campaign becomes a reality, Canadian exporters could likely be obstructed from bidding for US contracts.
