Presidential memorandum

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF WAR

THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET

THE ADMINISTRATOR FOR FEDERAL PROCUREMENT POLICY

THE ADMINISTRATOR OF GENERAL SERVICES

THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby direct the following:

Restoring Reciprocity in Government Procurement

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby direct:

Section 1. Purpose and Policy. Canada has unreasonably imposed new barriers to United States companies seeking to access the Canadian government procurement market by, among other things, establishing preferences for Canadian products and Canadian content under its “Buy Canadian” policy. Canadian provinces have also limited the access of United States companies to their government procurement markets. Meanwhile, Canadian companies continue to have preferential access to the United States Government procurement system. This includes access to all procurement the United States has agreed to cover at the Federal level under the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement, which amounts to over $280 billion annually. My Administration will always act to combat such unreasonable or discriminatory practices.

Sec. 2. Removing Canadian Origin Items From the Federal Procurement System. (a) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget (Director) and the United States Trade Representative (Trade Representative), in coordination with the members of the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council, and in consultation with any other senior executive branch official the Director and the Trade Representative deem appropriate, shall, to the extent appropriate and consistent with law, identify and take all steps permitted by applicable law with respect to Canadian origin items in the Federal civil procurement system that can, where warranted, be removed or made non-available for purchase. Further, the Director, in consultation with any senior executive branch officials he deems appropriate, shall take appropriate steps to notify relevant executive departments and agencies (agencies), as determined by the Director, of domestic alternatives to Canadian origin items, to the extent permitted by law.