Harper Brings Trade Talk to Oval Office and the Hill

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper stopped in Washington this week to chat about Afghanistan, trade, energy, and—of course—hockey. After their bilateral meeting, U.S. President Barack Obama talked up the two countries’ “excellent relations.” But Harper stayed for a second day to meet with U.S. congressional leaders, bringing the Canadian battle over the “Buy American” provisions to Capitol Hill. The prime minister’s visit comes as he faces electoral pressures back home.

The close ties Obama trumpeted have much to do with Canadian trade and energy, as COA’s Nicole Spencer writes for the Americas Quarterly blog. With bilateral trade standing at over $600 billion last year, Ottawa remains Washington’s top trading partner. Energy is a crucial component of that. Canada accounts for 9 percent of the U.S. energy demand, 82 percent of U.S. natural gas exports, one-third of the uranium supplies fueling U.S. nuclear power plants, and 18 percent of U.S. oil imports. As the Energy Information Administration background page on Canada notes, Ottawa simultaneously sends most of its energy to the United States and serves as Washington’s top source for energy.

Obviously, none of this was lost on Harper during his White House visit. He chose to “remind all our American friends” of Canada’s role as an energy supplier, as well as a partner in the areas of climate change and energy security. He also announced a hydroelectric project in British Columbia that “has the capacity down the road to be part of a more integrated North American hydroelectric system.”

Obama needed no reminding, either. After all, as The Los Angeles Times’ Top of the Ticket blog notes, “[T]he U.S. chief executive granted Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper coveted media availability in the Oval Office, a privilege not granted to someone as lowly as Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown not so long ago.” Obama pointed out that, each of the seven times they’ve met, Harper raised the issue of Canada gaining exclusion from “Buy American” provisions folded into the $787 billion stimulus package. The provisions ban projects from gaining federal funds to purchase products made in other countries. Notes Jeffrey Simpson in The Globe and Mail, Obama “guaranteed nothing, because he could do no else.”

With that in mind, Harper took the rare step of bringing his case to U.S. Congress, where he met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D-NV), and other top legislators. Congress may have its hands dull with other crucial issues such as healthcare reform; still, “When a head of a foreign government comes along, they will listen to him, and it will register,” says David Biette of the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Canada Institute.

But back in Canada, Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff labeled Harper’s Washington stops as “amateur hour,” saying the prime minister had failed to trigger concrete action on the provisions. Ignatieff has taken steps to spur another round of federal elections in Canada, though polls show the Liberals will need to form a coalition with other parties to gain a victory.

If an agreement over the “Buy American” deal remains unsure, a resolution appears near on a travel hurdle that threatened to disrupt the professional hockey season, which starts up in October. The U.S. Department of Transportation ruled in August that Air Canada could not operate charters flying Canadian teams from one destination to another within the United States. The issue arose after the airline won a Boston Bruins contract as well as a contract with the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team. After the White House meeting, Harper said the two countries are “close to resolving” the impasse.

Learn more:

• "Stephen Harper Visits the White House," by Nicole Spencer, Americas Quarterly blog, September 16, 2009.
• "Election Fever Hits Canada as Parties Prepare for a Possible Fall Vote," by Huguette Young, Americas Quarterly blog, September 15, 2009.
• Joint statement by Prime Minister Harper, President Barack Obama, September 16, 2009.
• Text of Harper-Obama Joint Press Conference
• U.S. Census Bureau figures for bilateral U.S.-Canadian trade.
• Office of the United States Trade Representative page on U.S.-Canada trade facts.
• Government of Canada data on U.S.-Canada energy relations.
• Energy Information Administration background page on Canada.