Postmedia News reports that, “Canada will enter negotiations with the United States early next year in the hopes of reaching a broader, long-term agreement based on the Buy American compromise the two sides reached earlier this year, says Trade Minister Peter Van Loan.”
“In a year-end interview with Postmedia News, Van Loan confirmed that negotiations on a more extensive deal will kick off in February.”
“Canadian officials hope the February (2010) pact sowed the seeds for a much wider-ranging agreement on government procurement — a lucrative source of business that is often highly protected by governments.”
“Van Loan declined to provide a timeline for a wider deal, noting that individual states will have to be convinced. …The (current) waiver on Buy American obtained by Canada is only temporary, expiring at the end of September 2011.”
The full article is at http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/story.html?id=4021058.
For Council of Canadians commentary on the February 2010 Buy American deal, please go to http://canadians.org/campaignblog/?=2862.
