Canada–United States trade relations
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The trade relationship of the United States with Canada is the largest in the world. In 2016, the goods and services trade between the two countries totalled $627.8 billion. U.S. exports were $320.1 billion, while imports were $307.6 billion. The United States has a $12.5 billion trade surplus with Canada in 2016.[1] Canada has historically held a trade deficit with the United States in every year since 1985 in net trade of goods, excluding services.[2] The trade relationship between the two countries crosses all industries and is vitally important to both nations' success as each country is one of the largest trade partners of the other.
The trade across Ambassador Bridge, between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan, alone is equal to all trade between the United States and Japan.[3][4]
Before NAFTA
Canadian politicians have debated
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
The
Disputes
There are several disputes arising from the bilateral trade between the two nations. The United States placed Canada on its Special 301 Report intellectual property rights enforcement (although under the mildest category of "rebuke"). Other products from Canada under dispute include softwood lumber, beef, tomatoes, and other agricultural products.
The heightened border security as a result of the 2001
One ongoing and complex trade issue involves the importation of cheaper
Softwood lumber
The Canada–United States softwood lumber dispute is one of the most significant and enduring trade disputes in modern history. The dispute has had its biggest effect on British Columbia, the major Canadian exporter of softwood lumber to the United States.
The heart of the dispute is the claim that the Canadian lumber industry is unfairly subsidized by the federal and provincial governments. Specifically, most timber in Canada is owned by provincial governments. The price charged to harvest the timber (the "stumpage fee") is set administratively rather than through a competitive auction, as is often the practice in the United States. The United States claims that the provision of government timber at below market prices constitutes an unfair subsidy. Under U.S. trade remedy laws, foreign goods benefiting from subsidies can be subject to a countervailing duty tariff to offset the subsidy and bring the price of the product back up to market rates.
Proposals
Since the September 11th attacks, there has been a debate on whether there should be further
By sector
Energy
The strength of the Canada–U.S. relationship is demonstrated by impressive bilateral trade of approximately $1.9 billion a day, along the world's longest undefended border. Energy trade is the largest component of this cross-border commerce. Canada has the third-largest oil reserves (after Saudi Arabia and Venezuela), thanks to its oil-sands resources. The United States has historically been Canada's only foreign market for natural gas, oil, and hydropower. In 2010, almost 100% of Canada's exports in these commodity classes were destined for the United States. Canada is the largest foreign supplier of crude oil (25% of oil imports) and natural gas to the United States. In short, this energy relationship has enhanced U.S. energy security and provided Canada with a steady demand for its energy exports.
However, this highly integrated U.S.–Canada energy relationship may change dramatically in the near future. U.S. oil and natural gas production and reserves are expanding because of growing
Both Canada and the United States are increasingly reliant on foreign investment to develop their resource sectors, with Asia serving as an important source of capital. Asian investors initially focused on project investments as minority joint venture partners but are showing increasing interest in owning production companies. Asian investors' objectives for investing in the North American energy sector include both attractive financial returns on investment as well as an interest in North America as an energy supply source for their economies. The expanding energy investment and trade between North America and Asia can be mutually beneficial.[7]
Agriculture (Dairy)
Another source of tension has been Canada's protection of their dairy farmers. Canada is the only industrialized country in the world to still use a "supply management system" for regulating the supply of dairy products.[8] The US sees the system as protectionist because after an annual import quota has been reached, a large tariff (240% for milk, 300% for butter) is applied to any additional imports.[8]
Media and culture
Because
The major difference is that the U.S. media market is more than 15 times larger, meaning that the Americans enjoy greater
One source of tension is a difference in philosophy: the Canadian position is that its culture is a prerequisite for safeguarding its nationhood and should thus be excluded from free trade agreements, whereas Americans negotiators see media as just another commodity. This difference came to light during the dispute over "split-run" magazine during the 1990s. Split-runs are magazines produce a slightly modified edition (say, for a Canadian market) and resell much of the advertising space to Canadian advertisers. Canadian publishers argued that the Americans were poaching all their advertising revenue without producing substantial Canadian content. American publishers and the U.S. government countered that banning "split-runs" was illegal under
See also
- NAFTA's effect on United States employment
- North American Forum on Integration
- North American SuperCorridor Coalition
- Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America
References
- ^ "Canada United States Trade Representative". ustr.gov. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
- ^ Division, US Census Bureau Foreign Trade. "Foreign Trade: Data". www.census.gov.
- ^ "The Embassy of the U.S.A., Ottawa - United States - Canada Relations". Archived from the original on 2008-02-08. Retrieved 2008-05-01.
- ^ a b "Apps - Access My Library - Gale". Access My Library. Retrieved 2016-08-27.
- ^ "CRS Report for Congress" (PDF). Nationalaglawcenter.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-08-09. Retrieved 2016-08-27.
- ^ "Cellucci's Message," National Post, March 26, 2003.
- ^ "2013 Summit Working Papers : The U.S.-Canada Energy Relationship and the Growing Role for Asia" (PDF). Nbr.org. Retrieved 2016-08-27.
- ^ a b Northam, Jackie (2018-07-10). "Why President Trump Hates Canadian Dairy — And Canada Insists On Protecting It". NPR.org. Archived from the original on 2018-07-10. Retrieved 2018-07-11.