New York state drops controversial Buy American plan
Wynne cheers the move, saying that both the state and Ontario had too much to lose in lucrative trade relations
Premier Kathleen Wynne has commended New York state for dropping a “Buy American” policy that threatened $30 billion in trade, but said the province was prepared to act quickly had it not done so.
Speaking at Queen’s Park on Saturday before heading to Illinois on Sunday night to meet with the governor there, Wynne said the New York decision reflected the “deep and long-standing” relationship between the two jurisdictions.
However, she warned that Ontario still faces a battle with coming changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement.
“This has been an intense time in New York and it’s been an intense time for our team, so I’m very pleased to say New York state has dropped the Buy American provisions from its budget,” she said. “That’s in the best interest of workers and businesses here in Ontario, and also in the best interests of theirs in New York.”
Ontario and New York “share more than a border,” Wynne noted.
“Our economies rely on each other and we rely on each other to support good jobs and growth. And protectionist policies like ‘Buy American’ put that relationship and those jobs and businesses at serious risk. . . . This partnership is crucial to both of our economies.”
In 2016, total trade between the province and the state was $22.7 billion (U.S.) — about $30 billion Canadian.
But despite the good relations, Wynne said Ontario was not going to sit by in the event the policy was passed.
“Let me be clear: Ontario was not taking a wait-and-see approach to the ‘Buy American’ provisions . . .our government has worked tirelessly to ensure that Ontario was top of mind as this budget in New York state was being considered,” she said.
Wynne added: “I met with cabinet 10 days ago and we agreed that we would table legislation as early as next week if it had been required in order to allow Ontario to react forcefully to these policies.”
In anticipation of changes to NAFTA, the premier has been writing to and meeting with American governors in states that have strong trading partnerships with Ontario. She will be in Chicago on Monday.
“Our economies rely on each other and we rely on each other to support good jobs and growth.”
PREMIER KATHLEEN WYNNE
“When the province is trading, businesses are growing and that means good jobs are being created,” she added. “This is a two-way street, with benefits here and benefits in the U.S.”
New York’s “Buy American” policy would have given preference to U.S.made good and products for contracts exceeding $100,000.
Among the province’s lobbying efforts included a recent trip to New York by Economic Development Minister Brad Duguid and Inernational Trade Minister Michael Chan, during which they made the case for Ontario to remain a top trading partner.