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Buy American provisions will hurt North America’s economic competitiveness

The proposed American Jobs Act contains Buy American measures that will not only hurt Canadian manufacturers and suppliers, but will hurt the economic competitiveness of both Canada and the United States according to Public Policy Scholar Laura Dawson and Paul Frazer, co-chair of the Canada Institute's Advisory Board.

Dawson explains that the Buy American provisions might preserve jobs if goods were produced in one country and shipped to another, but that is not the case. Canada and the U.S. have an integrated, cross-border production system, which means that “a disruption to any node in the supply chain has far-reaching economic consequences.”

Read the full text of the media release here.

Dawson and Frazer also wrote "A 'Buy America' wake-up call for Canada" which appeared in the Toronto Star, September 24, 2011.

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The mission of the Wilson Center's Canada Institute is to raise the level of knowledge of Canada in the United States, particularly within the Washington, DC policy community.  Research projects, initiatives, podcasts, and publications cover contemporary Canada, US-Canadian relations, North American political economy, and Canada's global role as it intersects with US national interests.  Read more