Ottawa, 7 May 2022 (TDI): The United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai held a two-day visit to Canada to enhance trade ties between the two North American neighbors.
Mary Ng, the Canadian Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business, and Economic Development, hosted Canada’s US Trade Representative.
The officials discussed issues of bilateral trade. Their discussion included the collaboration between Canada and the United States to reinforce cross-border supply chains. Moreover, they discussed steps their countries are taking to strengthen bilateral trade and support employment and prosperity.
Meanwhile, the two officials agreed to advance the ongoing implementation of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). Additionally, they talked about the joint efforts to support rules-based trade in international forums such as the G7 and the WTO.
Minister Ng also highlighted the issue of US safeguard tariffs on Canadian solar products, even though both countries have shared goals related to climate change. Likewise, the Canadian Minister reiterated her concern about “unjustified” American duties on softwood lumber. Meanwhile, she also emphasized the importance of the dispute settlement process to Canada.
The two officials participated in a meeting with bi-national labor stakeholders co-hosted by the Canadian Minister of Labour. The aim of the meeting was to address the issue of forced labor in global supply chains. They reaffirmed a shared commitment to counter forces labor.
Furthermore, the US Trade Representative visited Toronto on the second day of her visit. She participated in a discussion on supporting small and medium-sized businesses to grow and export.
Additionally, she also conducted two site visits, accompanied by Minister Ng. She witnessed the integrated supply chains between Canada and the United States, including those for electric vehicles and semiconductors.
US-Canada Trade Ties
Canada and the United States are highly integrated and interdependent in the realm of economy and trade. The mutually beneficial bilateral partnership is based on democratic values, deep people-to-people connections, a shared border, and multi-layered economic and security relations.
Canada is United States’ 2nd largest goods trading partner. Their two-way trade totaled about $612.1 billion in 2019. Meanwhile, both countries are a part of the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA).
