Game of Trade: Canada fights back in Buy America feud

Canadian and American flags fly in Point Roberts, Wash. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)

Ottawa has invoked a rarely used anti-sanctions law after Alaska refused to void Buy America purchasing rules in the rebuilding of a B.C. ferry terminal.

The Canadian government signed an order Monday under the Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act, barring companies from complying with the requirement that only U.S. steel be used on the project in Prince Rupert, B.C., Trade Minister Ed Fast said.

The Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act, a federal anti-sanctions law, has been used only once, in 1992, to counter the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba.

The law gives the federal Attorney General the power to issue orders, making it illegal for bidders on the project to comply with the Buy America rules.

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