February 18, 2009
Shoji Muneoka
Chairman
The Japan Iron and Steel Federation
On February 17, U.S. President Barack Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (an economic stimulus package), which includes a “Buy American” provision concerning steel products and other manufactured goods.
At the November 2008 Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy (the G-20 Washington summit), the leaders agreed to preserve free trade even as economies contract worldwide. But the United States has now established a provision that gives preference to domestic products. This is an extremely unfortunate action that may lead to the spread of protectionism on a global scale.
The Japan Iron and Steel Federation will carefully monitor U.S. actions to be certain that this “Buy American” provision is enforced in a manner that complies with the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement, the G-20 Washington summit agreement and other international agreements. We strongly hope that the countries of the world preserve the free trade system as they work toward achieving a global economic recovery as soon as possible.
