NAFTA Advantage

North America—the World’s Largest, Richest Market

Want access to more than 443 million consumers and a combined GDP of more than US$15.4 trillion?  Look no further than Canada.

America’s #1 Trading Partner

— by a long shot.  Two-way goods-and-services trade between Canada and the United States was valued at C$710 billion dollars in 2005, or nearly C$1.3 million a minute in trade.  That’s more than trade between the United States and all of the countries of the European Union combined.

Closer to the US than . . . the US

Many Canadian production hubs are actually closer to target U.S. markets than American production sites. Most large Canadian cities are within an hour-and-a-half drive of the United States and many are much closer. Several, such as Vancouver, Windsor, and Montreal, are only minutes away.

Production locations in Quebec and the industrial heartland of southwestern Ontario are often closer to the huge American markets around New York, Boston, and Chicago than popular American production hubs like Atlanta, GA, and Raleigh, NC.

Smart Borders

Fast and efficient trucking, railways, ocean shipping and air services link the two countries. To accommodate the growth in trade and commerce, Canada and the United States have signed a pact to work together to create a Smart Border. The Declaration outlined a 30-Point Action Plan, which provides for ongoing collaboration in identifying and addressing security risks, while efficiently expediting the legitimate flow of people and goods across the Canada-US border.

Access to Latin America

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) gives you access to the entire continent and entrée to Latin America.  Following the success of the 1988 Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, in 1994 the original trading partnership expanded to include Mexico — creating the largest free trade area in the world. Products traded with the United States and Mexico fall under the terms of NAFTA and most tariffs were eliminated in 2004. 

NAFTA revealed the true potential for Canada-Mexico-US trade and ushered in a new era of economic integration. Canada and the US remain each other’s largest trading partners. Mexico is now Canada's fourth largest export market, while Canada is Mexico's second largest.