Biden signs orders enacting stringent Buy American regimen

WASHINGTON—U.S. President Joe Biden imposed stringent new made-in-America rules for U.S. government spending Monday, adding a caveat likely troubling to Canada: exceptions to those rules will be allowed only under “very limited circumstances.”

Monday’s Buy American executive order was the result of a cornerstone Biden campaign promise, one designed to corral swing-state support among the protectionist, blue-collar voters who elevated Donald Trump to the White House in 2016.

The aim of the policy is not a new one in U.S. politics: ensuring that American manufacturers, workers and suppliers are the primary beneficiaries of U.S. government largesse, including an estimated $600 billion (U.S.) a year in procurement contracts.

The measures include a “Made in America” office attached to the White House to police the use of waivers — the exceptions that allow Canadian contractors, manufacturers and suppliers access to a lucrative and often essential source of business.

That office will “review waivers to make sure they are only used in very limited circumstances — for example, when there’s an overwhelming national security, humanitarian or emergency need here in America,” Biden said.

Mark Agnew, the director of international policy for the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said Canada will find little of comfort in Monday’s news.

“Buy American restrictions remain a perennial problem for Canadian businesses seeking to access government contracts with our largest trading partner,” he said in a statement. “Although the rules have progressively tightened over the years, (Monday’s) announcement represents another unhelpful step to make it more difficult for Canadian businesses.”

A more stringent and orderly system of approving and enforcing waivers might eventually prove to be a “silver lining” for Canada, said Dan Ujczo, a Canada-U.S. trade lawyer based in Columbus, Ohio.

“The nuance often is lost on procurement officers that do not want to risk using non-U.S. products,” he said. “If Canadian companies can use this new Made in America office at OMB to emphasize Canada’s ‘exemptionalism,’ it could prove worthwhile.”

Dennis Darby, the CEO of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, said the job now is to remind Biden that the U.S. and Canada “build things together.”

“Anyone who thought it was suddenly going to be easy, clear sailing now that Mr. Trump is gone, I think, was probably not thinking realistically,” Darby said.