A Buy American Exemption: The Maine View with Candidate for Governor Matt Jacobson

"My vision is for Maine to compete and win in this new economy. We will build strong communities that attract jobs and families, providing choice and opportunity to our workers. We will create an economic climate in Maine that is world class and competitive with other states and the global economy. Maine can be a place where hard work is rewarded with opportunity, where our children can realize their dreams and our people have hope. We have an extraordinary state and talented people. We should be doing better, and we have a responsibility to create a brighter future for the next generation. Our jobs. Our families. Our communities. These are my priorities." While our September 30th 90-Minute Special examined the impact of the Buy American Policy on the domestic as well as international economies at the highest level of political office, the question that remained is simply this . . . does an exemption translate into tangible business opportunities for Canadian-based suppliers in the US public sector market? In an effort to answer this question, PI Window on Business is delving deeper into the issue from a front-line, real-world perspective that started on October 14th, and continues today with Maine's Republican gubernatorial candidate Matt Jacobson. Given it's proximity to Canada one would perhaps consider Maine to be one of the States where a reasonable percentage of the 7 million US-based jobs are dependent upon an open trade agreement with its neighbor to the north. However, and as Jacobson stressed in a June 2009 article, “We are on a path where there is a very real danger that we will be the generation that leaves [Maine] in a worse state than we found it. I can’t let that happen.” Against this backdrop of legitimate concern for his State, can a balance between sustaining open trade with a foreign country while stimulating local business survival and growth be achieved in a time of economic downturn?