The “Buy American” clause stuck onto the stimulus bill wending its way through Congress is a pernicious piece of legislation because it has engendered a ferocious response from trading partners, not the least of which is Canada.
Below is a Wall Street Journal video clip discussing this piece of legislation and the Canadian reaction to it. In addition, the video rightly claims that the bailouts now being conducted for financial services industries around the world are subsidies that are equally protectionist. None of this bodes well for the global economy.