ALASKA: It is planned upgrade a ferry terminal at the port by $15 million in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, which is roughly 900 miles north of the U.S. border. The terminal is used exclusively by the Alaska Marine Highway System, which serves communities in southeast Alaska that have limited or no road access, and provides a crucial link between the Alaska, British Columbia, and the rest of the U.S.
Canadian officials said it is looking at its options after learning a ferry-terminal upgrade at a port on its Pacific Coast is subject to U.S. policies that would prohibit the use of Canadian-made iron and steel.
Alaska leases the ferry terminal under a 50-year deal with the Prince Rupert Port Authority. In documents released this month, Alaska said all iron and steel products to be used in the upgrade had to be U.S.-made. So-called Buy America provisions apply because the U.S. Federal Highway Administration is providing $10 million for the project, the state said.
The development marks the latest irritant in Ottawa-Washington relations, under strain due to the long-delayed Keystone XL pipeline decision and U.S. reluctance to fund a customs plaza at a proposed new border crossing between Michigan and Ontario.
“It’s definitely a different situation,” said Jeremy Woodrow, a spokesman for the Alaska Marine Highway System, in reference to Buy America provisions applying in Canada.
Mr. Woodrow said Alaska is following U.S. rules in the terminal project, as FHA funding is conditional on the exclusive use of U.S. iron and steel. At the end of the day, “the ferry terminal will be owned by Alaska,” he said.
Canada’s government is “exploring all options to address this situation,” Canadian Trade Minister Ed Fast said in a statement, adding the application of U.S. protectionist policies within Canada is “unreasonable.”
“Taxpayers on both sides of the border would benefit from dismantling the trade barriers and inefficiencies created by U.S. protectionist policies such as Buy America,” Mr. Fast said, adding his government would respond “appropriately.”
A representative for Mr. Fast wasn’t immediately available to comment on what steps Canada is considering.
A lobby group for Canadian exporters suggested Ottawa should consider policies that would prohibit the use of U.S.-made iron and steel in Canadian infrastructure work.
The Prince Rupert port also includes a separate ferry terminal used by British Columbia’s government-run ferry service.
The Buy America provisions were first introduced as part of the Obama administration’s stimulus-spending program in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. Canada won a temporary reprieve in early 2010, and although that expired in September 2011.
A small Colorado town that used some Canadian steel to repair a bridge faced sanctions from Washington for violating Buy America provisions. U.S. authorities later relented and said the Canadian steel in the bridge could stay.
