OTTAWA—Alaska is refusing to budge after the Harper government issued a legal threat over the state’s plan to build on Canadian soil with exclusively American iron and steel.
In fact, the Alaskans insisted on Tuesday, Jan. 20, that they’re moving ahead with their project to build a new ferry terminal in British Columbia—protectionist provisions and all.
This week, the Canadian government took the unusual step of signing a legal order to prevent Alaska from imposing “Buy American” policies on the construction work in the B.C. coastal city of Prince Rupert.
International Trade Minister Ed Fast went on the offensive after the state rejected Ottawa’s demands that it abandon a rule requiring the Prince Rupert project to use only U.S.-made materials.
The rarely used Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act would enable Ottawa to impose fines and take legal action against the project’s winning bidder if it complies with the Buy American provisions.
