China “out-exports” Canada to U.S.
Canada has historically always been the number-1 seller of goods to the United States. China has now firmly eclipsed Canada for that position. This remarkable shift in trade reflects the Asian consumer goods juggernaut’s deeper penetration of the U.S. market. This also signals Canada’s special trading relationship with Washington is becoming… less “special”.
- China sold $312.2-billion (U.S.) worth of merchandise to the United States between Aug. 1, 2006, and July 31, 2007, while Canada shipped $305.6-billion, trade statistics show.
- The U.S. shipped $237.5-billion to Canada over the same 12-month period from August, 2006, to July, 2007, while it only sold $59.7-billion to China.
For the first time did China’s shipments to the United States surpass Canada’s. Lets face it… China is advancing at an incredibly fast pace. The safety/other issues of Chinese exports probably won’t stop them. And the Canadian dollar rising, is only making Canada less competitive in the U.S. So should Ottawa exert its efforts to open up new markets worldwide, or should it redouble its efforts on its existing relationship with Washington to keep borders open and dodge restrictions to bilateral trade?
Wait a minute… who said this is a bad thing. Maybe it’s something that needs to happen in order for growth and development to continue in Canada. Maybe this is a sign that Canadians are not willing to be “relaxed” and “laid-back” anymore, versus traditional beliefs. Maybe Canadians are tired of being bullied by the American economy.
- Canada has been growing in the financial services, engineering, telecom, etc. – where Canadian export strength has been growing.
- Canada has become less dependant on the U.S. market, with sales to the United States dropping over the past seven years.
- As a share of Canadian exports, sales to the U.S. have declined to 75 per cent from an all-time high of around 85 per cent back in 2000.
Maybe this is why the Canadian economy had been strong throughout the hardships in the U.S. economy during the past few years. Sure China is penetrating deeper into world markets, but more importantly, maybe we finally are heading towards a strong, diversified, Canada.
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