Canada seeks progress with U.S. on "buy American"

OTTAWA Aug 13 (Reuters) - Canada and the United States must make progress in dealing with the "buy American" component of the U.S. economic stimulus package, which Ottawa considers to be protectionist, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Thursday.

Harper raised the matter with U.S. President Barack Obama at a meeting in Mexico this week. Obama said the policy had not endangered overall Canada-U.S. trade.

"It's very important that Canada and the United States ... at a time when we're trying to fight protectionism globally, I think it essential that we move forward on this and send a positive message to the world," Harper told a televised news conference in Kitchener, Ontario. (Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Rob Wilson)