During the campaign, on several occasions, Obama attacked the Bush administration for its open policies of trade with Canada that hurt the US. He said he would change that policy. Apparently, he won't.
Isn't that odd. Obama breaking a promise.
Those who support him will again ignore this faux pas, but you will not be able to for much longer as the mistakes build on each other.
21 Feb 2009
The Weekend Australian
Jonathan Weisman Ottawa
Obama plays down tensions on debut trip
US President Barack Obama, on his debut foray abroad, sought to reassure Canada that he had no intention of turning some of his campaign rhetoric on trade into actual barriers between America and its largest trading partner.
Mr Obama downplayed a controversial Buy American’’ clause in his huge economic stimulus plan, which raised fears across the globe of an anti-freetrade backlash in the US.
Now is a time where we’ve got to be very careful about any signals of protectionism, because as the economy of the world contracts, I think there’s going to be a strong impulse, on the part of constituencies in all countries, to see if they can engage in beggarthy-neighbour policies,’’ Mr Obama said.
Visiting Canada has traditionally been the first trip for a new US president. In his daylong trip yesterday, Mr Obama touched upon an array of bilateral concerns, from trade to a declining North American car industry to Afghanistan, where Canadian combat forces are to leave by mid-2011.
He capped the visit with a joint appearance with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper that highlighted some strains that have developed between the two sides in recent years. Mr Harper took some apparent swipes at the Bush administration’s position on climate change, noting that Washington was only now forming a comprehensive policy on the environment and energy.
Mr Harper also questioned whether the North American Free Trade Agreement could be reopened, as Mr Obama had pledged to do during the campaign, without ‘‘ unravelling what is a very complex agreement’’.
Mr Obama reiterated his belief that NAFTA side agreements on environmental and labour standards should be incorporated into the main agreement.
Canada’s concerns over Mr Obama’s pledge to reopen NAFTA have been exacerbated by a provision in the President’s just-passed $US787 billion ($1.2 trillion) economic stimulus package that stipulates that certain building materials for infrastructure projects funded by the plan come from US suppliers.
Mr Obama had criticised NAFTA on the campaign trail last year in hard-hit industrial states, where many people blame the trade deal for robbing the US of manufacturing jobs.
On Afghanistan — where Mr Obama has pledged to increase US troop presence by about 50 per cent — the President did not push Canada to rethink its plans to withdraw its troops. Ottawa has said it won’t renew its troop commitment to a conflict that has killed 108 Canadian soldiers.
Obama
Subscribe To
Posts
Comments