Have you heard about the Made in America challenge that Diane Sawyer and ABC are currently doing? They're trying to teach people to buy more American-made items, which will in turn help create more jobs in the United States.
I would have thought this was a great campaign before. We should be trying to support jobs here rather than in places like China. But since living in Canada, I've heard comments from various people against such American-centric ideas. These thoughts are not directed against the idea of the U.S. helping its economy. No, the thoughts are against these ideas that can really hurt the Canadian economy.
Did you know that the U.S. imported $347.9 billion worth of merchandise in 2010?* Canada imported merchandise worth $264.2 billion from the U.S. That's huge. How huge?
"The relationship between the United States and Canada is the closest and most extensive in the world. It is reflected in the staggering volume of bilateral trade--the equivalent of $1.6 billion a day in goods..."
No wonder some Canadians get a bit frustrated when they hear "Buy American." The U.S. and Canada are each others most important trade partners, and yet Canada is hung out to dry when it's time to help America.
Why can't the challenge be "Buy North American"?
*Stats and quotes come from the U.S. Department of State Diplomacy in Action website.
3 comments:
I believe a lot of the stuff the US imports from Canada is lumber and food stuff which if I'm right aren't likely to decrease. If I'm wrong then disregard.
It's true that the US imports a lot of lumber from Canada. When the whole housing crisis occurred, I know BC was hit really hard, as it exports a lot of lumber to the US and it was no longer wanted. Now that decrease was not entirely due to a "Buy American" campaign, but it does show an impact.
Canada does export many things that companies, not necessarily households, would buy, such as metal and industrial machines. A "Buy American" challenge could directly impact those companies!
Why can't Canada have the same campaign for themselves?
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