It seems far away, but an American trade agreement could potentially have a big impact on local business.
In an update to council on Sept. 22, Mayor Joanne Ross-Zuj told councillors they would soon be getting results from a meeting she attended in Quebec on behalf of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
“There are a couple of issues which are very significant to our community. The first one coming forward is a trade issue regarding Buy American.”
The mayor noted that in 2011 there was a trade agreement with the United States regarding the amount of American product that must be included in items manufactured here.
“That agreement has now expired and we are back at square one where Buy American has become a big issue for a number of our manufacturers and industries.”
Ross-Zuj noted, “next door in Halton-Hills, they are being particularly impacted.”
She added businesses in Centre Wellington are starting to feel the impact of the restrictions being imposed on products sold to the United States.
She added, “We are one of their major trading partners and it is important that a number of these items be brought to their attention. When you think about everything which is made related to steel it doesn’t take much imagination to see how it could affect all of our industries.”
