Today, Ministers Van Loan and Cannon announced that our government has successfully negotiated an agreement with the Obama Administration that will allow Canadian companies to participate in U.S. infrastructure projects financed under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Preserving and creating jobs is our Government’s top priority. Our Government stood up for Canadian businesses and workers in resolving this issue with our American partners. The result is an agreement that will benefit businesses and workers on both sides of the border.
Canadian suppliers will have access to state and local public works projects under the Recovery Act in a range of areas, including programs of the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Environmental Protection Agency. We have also agreed to establish a fast-track consultation process should similar Buy American provisions be applied to future funding programs.
The agreement announced today also grants mutual access to state and provincial/territorial procurement opportunities under the WTO’s Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) – this too will help create jobs, and it sets an important precedent for Canada because it recognizes the integrated nature of our two economies.
Looking ahead to further increasing opportunities over the long-term, Canada and the U.S. have also agreed to discuss a comprehensive, permanent agreement on reciprocal access to procurement markets at the state and provincial/territorial and local levels.
