Obama comes to Canada

Well, he's here, and with a very clear agenda it seems. The economy and Afghanistan will be the two topics covered off specifically.

Canada's position is clear on the Afghanistan mission. A total withdrawal of military troops and a shift towards humanitarian support, development, and peacekeeping. This is where Canada's presence should be felt anyway. It's what the nation is known for and excels at. I don't think Obama will disrespect the country in any way for withdrawing, however disappointed his nation might be at our actions.

My main concern is how the two leaders will deal with the issue of the $800 billion stimulus named "Buy American". The mandate of this stimulus is to force Corporate America to purchase only US supplied iron, steel, and manufactured goods for the creation of products.

Although Obama states that the US has no intention of breaking any NAFTA laws, they may very well violate the intent of those laws - to preserve the equilibrium of global trade markets. Bluntly put, a protectionist act of this nature could throw Canada's already precarious exporting market (our country's KEY market) off the brink of recession into depression.

Obama's counterpoint is as follows:

My administration is committed to making sure that even as we take steps to strengthen the U.S. economy, that we are doing so in a way that actually over time will enhance the ability of trading partners, like Canada, to work within our boundaries.

Obviously, this is something that will be played out in the coming months, but without clear direction on how Buy America will work, I'm not convinced our country won't be on the losing end.