Saturday June 6, 3:23 AM
Singapore concerned over 'Buy American' clause
Singapore expressed concern Friday over a controversial "Buy American" plan in US efforts to stimulate recovery, saying some nations were exploiting gray areas in global trade rules.
The plan was embedded in the nearly 800-billion-dollar US stimulus package adopted earlier this year that required projects funded with stimulus money to use only US-made steel, iron and manufactured goods.
"Some of these measures of course cause a lot of discomfort to many of us including Singapore," said Lim Hng Kiang, the island nation's trade minister, in Washington for meetings with trade officials and US lawmakers.
He said that while Singapore was not directly affected by the restriction, it understood the concerns of countries hit by the action.
"We empathize with countries like Canada, which is more directly affected by what some of the states in the US have done in following some of these regulations and policies and we are monitoring the situation very closely," Lim told reporters.
He said that Singapore "will add our voice to concerns" that "such actions might beget other actions and then cause the situation to snowball in the wrong direction."
Lim, without pointing his finger at the United States, also said it might be difficult to pin down countries that took steps that bordered on protectionism, at the World Trade Organization, the global trade watchdog.
"Of course if they transgress WTO rules, member countries will take each other to the dispute settlement process but this is more on the grey area where it not quite tantamount to being taken to the dispute settlement process."
However, he added, that trade dependent Singapore would use a "peer review" process in the Geneva-based WTO to "try to mutually reinforce each other to move in the correct direction rather than in the wrong path."
Canada and several other key US trading partners have expressed concern with the Buy American clause, which originally said that infrastructure projects designed to kick-start the US economy could only use US-made manufactured materials.
But it was later watered down to show that such procurement could only take place in a manner consistent with Washington's international treaty obligations.
Some businesses and officials complained the amendment was proving virtually meaningless in practice, reports have said.
More than a third of the stimulus money is being disbursed by states and local authorities, which are not party to free trade accords such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Canadian manufacturers complained their goods were being shut out of contracts funded by the US stimulus money even though Canada, together with the United States and Mexico, was party to NAFTA, which prohibited discrimination.
|
