Ottawa moves to lessen U. S. dependence

by investor on 09/02/09 at 1:35 am

Canada's Export And Import Market EXPORTS CANADA EXPORTED A TOTAL OF $39.2-BILLION WORTH OF MERCHANDISE TO THESE COUNTRIES IN NOVEMBER, 2008: United States 73% ($28.9-billion) Japan 3.0% ($1.2-billion) United Kingdom 1.8% ($717-million) Other European Economic Community countries 5.8% ($2.3-billion) Other OECD countries 5.3% ($2.1-billion) Other countries 10.4% ($4.1-billion) IMPORTS CANADA IMPORTED A TOTAL OF $38-BILLION WORTH OF MERCHANDISE FROM THESE COUNTRIES IN NOVEMBER, 2008: $38 BILLION Note: figures have been seasonally adjusted and rounded to the nearest decimal place and therefore may not equal 100 $39.2 BILLION United States 64.2% ($24.4-billion) Japan 2.7% ($1.1-billion) United Kingdom 1.8% ($694-million) Other European Economic Community countries 7.8% ($3-billion) Other OECD countries 6.5% ($2.5-billion) Other countries 16.9% ($6.4-billion) CANADA EXPORTED A TOTAL OF $39.2-BILLION WORTH OF MERCHANDISE TO THESE COUNTRIES IN NOVEMBER, 2008: United States 73% ($28.9-billion) Japan 3.0% …

Canada is in the midst of a wave of free-trade negotiations that could soon include the European Union, hopefully India and possibly Japan, in a high-speed effort to wean exporters off their entrenched dependence on the United States. But even as Ottawa opens doors, exporters appear reluctant to carry the expense of establishing themselves in distant markets.

As a result, Canadian exporters are feeling the effects of a narrowly focused trade portfolio as U. S. trade declines amid a deepening recession. To make matters worse, Canadian businesses are rattled by the emergence of a “Buy American” mentality in the United States, and the likelihood that parts of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which encompasses Canada, the United States and Mexico, will be back on the negotiating table.

Never has the need to diversify Canada’s trading partners been so apparent. In November, 2008, Canada shipped 73% of its merchandise exports to the United States, a figure that represents a significant decline.

“There is flexibility with NAFTA,” Stockwell Day, Canada’s Trade Minister, said in an interview with the Financial Post. He said the Barack Obama administration had not indicated it would like a wholesale renegotiation of NAFTA, but had expressed an interest in renegotiating the side accords regarding labour and the environment.

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