23 Januari 2015

[230115.EN.BIZ] US Cancel Job After Ottawa Bars Buy America Rule in Building Ferry Terminal



THE Canadian government has forbidden the US from applying its "Buy America" purchasing rules in building a ferry terminal it owned in Canada, so the Alaska state government has cancelled the job.

Alaska said it had cancelled the overhaul of a ferry terminal in British Columbia "for the time being" after the US$15 million project became a trade dispute with Canada, Reuters reports.

The Alaska Department of Transportation has refused to waive American rules on the US$15 million job in Prince Rupert, British Columbia.

A call for bids on an Alaska government website states that the Prince Rupert ferry terminal project falls under "Buy America" provisions, as it is partly funded by the US Federal Highway Administration.

Canada is invoking the Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act, allowing the government to forbid foreign laws adversely affect its interests on Canadian soil, in this case having bidders agree only to use American iron and steel.

Said Canadian Trade Minister Ed Fast: "The application of protectionist 'Buy America' provisions on Canadian soil is unacceptable and an affront to Canadian sovereignty.

"Therefore, an order has been signed under the Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act securing Canada's right to prevent compliance with the Buy America provisions for this project," he said.

Mr Fast said he was "disappointed" that Alaska had not sought a waiver from the US Government for the construction of the new terminal, which is part of a long-term lease between the Prince Rupert Port Authority and the Alaska Marine Highway System.

A spokesman for the Alaska Marine Highway System, the state agency that operates the ferries between Alaska and Prince Rupert, was not available for comment.

Source : HKSG.

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