Imports and Exports

Canada and the United States of America have been through very much since the start of importing and exporting goods across the border. Of course because of these two very different countries it hasn’t been very easy or inexpensive sharing goods within countries. There has been many problems in the past with trading with the U.S. Two very good examples are the softwood lumber dispute and lobster dispute. None the less, we have stuck with trading with America and have remained one of the largest trading partners with the U.S. Does this mean our trading system with the United States is perfect today? Have all our issues disappeared? I believe it hasn’t. There are still issues today, and no matter how hard countries may try, nothing is perfect. There hasn’t been a big issue in trade since the soft wood lumber dispute. However I believe that there has probably been minor issues that the public has not been aware of. Since 2012 Canada has been the U.S largest customer, purchasing $233 billion worth of goods a year. This is more than China, Japan, and the U.K combined. On average we exchange approximately $1.3 million in goods and services every minute. More than 8 million U.S jobs depend on trade and investment with Canada. Canadian-owned companies in the U.S employ more than 619,000 Americans. When Canada and U.S rely on each other this much the governments will make sure that trade within the countries is running smoothly. Lobstering has created disputes within the Canadian fishermen. Canadian fishermen are upset because companies and Canadian plants are processing cheap American lobster over Canadian lobster caught by Canadian Fishermen. This has created quite the dispute because fishermen are now losing business and have lost jobs because we are trading with the U.S rather than purchasing from our own