INDEPTH: SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS
Canada's trade with the Americas
CBC News Online | March 31, 2006
Canada has always been a nation that prides itself on its ability to compete on the international trading stage. The rest of the world wants our goods, and we want theirs.
And while the vast majority of Canada's trade is with the United States (87 per cent of our exports head to the U.S.), a growing portion of that commerce is with Mexico and the nations of Central America, the Caribbean and South America.
In fact, Canada now exports more to Latin America and the Caribbean than its does to
France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Russia and Eastern Europe combined.
Canada has signed multilateral free trade agreements with Mexico (through NAFTA in 1994), as well as bilateral free trade agreements with Chile (1997) and Costa Rica (2002). Initial free trade talks with the "Central American Four" - El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala - began under the previous Liberal government.
Canada has also explored holding talks with the Dominican Republic and the 13 countries of the Caribbean community (Caricom).
So who are Canada's biggest trading partners in the Americas, aside from the U.S.? Counting exports and imports, Mexico is number two, Brazil is third, Venezuela fourth and Chile is fifth.
Cuba, which has never taken part in any of the Summits of the Americas is Canada's seventh-biggest trading partner in the Americas, with more than $600 million in total trade between the two countries in 2002. Canada exported $277 million worth of goods to Cuba that year and imported $325 million worth.
Even though Cuba is a member of the World Trade Organization, U.S.-Cuban relations remain sufficiently strained (and the U.S. remains sufficiently powerful) that the island nation has never been invited to any of the summit meetings.
| Canada's Exports and Imports with the Americas in 2005 |
|---|
| United States of America |
365,800 |
214,896 |
| Mexico |
3,238 |
14,568 |
| Brazil |
1,101 |
3,142 |
| Venezuela |
685.7 |
1,828 |
| Chile |
408.7 |
1,652 |
| Cuba |
447.4 |
552.8 |
| Colombia |
446 |
582 |
| Argentina |
173 |
452.4 |
| Peru |
263 |
1,357 |
| Jamaica |
153.9 |
392.4 |
| Guatemala |
177.6 |
206.7 |
| Costa Rica |
84.6 |
355.6 |
| Ecuador |
160.3 |
114.3 |
| Guyana |
16.4 |
147 |
| Trinidad and Tobago |
158.8 |
237 |
| Dominican Republic |
145 |
119.9 |
| El Salvador |
55.5 |
59.3 |
| Uruguay |
23.8 |
130.8 |
| Honduras |
44.1 |
129.7 |
| Nicaragua |
19.5 |
57 |
| Panama |
59.9 |
44.6 |
| Suriname |
11 |
184.3 |
| Barbados |
61.1 |
7.1 |
| The Bahamas |
45.6 |
56.8 |
| Haiti |
33.6 |
11 |
| Bolivia |
15.9 |
24.7 |
| Antigua and Barbuda |
18.3 |
0.5 |
| St. Kitts and Nevis |
5.9 |
7.9 |
| Belize |
7.1 |
9.5 |
| St. Lucia |
10 |
0.5 |
| Paraguay |
10 |
15 |
| Dominica |
5 |
0.7 |
| Grenada |
7.8 |
0.9 |
| St. Vincent and the Grenadines |
3.9 |
0.6 |
| Total trade with the Americas |
373,897.40 |
241,344 |
| Total trade with the world |
435,653.80 |
379,576.60 |
Source: The Department of International Trade; Statistics Canada and the U.S. Census Bureau (U.S. Department of Commerce)
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Summit dates:
2005: Fourth Summit of the Americas; Argentina
2004: Special Summit of the Americas; Monterrey, Mexico
2001: Third Summit of the Americas; Quebec City
1998: Second Summit of the Americas; Santiago, Chile
1996: Summit of the Americas on Sustainable Development; Santa
Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
1994: Summit of the Americas; Miami, Florida
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