Manufacturers congratulate negotiators for securing free trade deal with US, Mexico

Ottawa, October 1, 2018

Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) welcomes the signing of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and congratulates Canada’s negotiators on securing this new trade agreement with Canada’s closest and most critical trading partners.

Dennis Darby, President & CEO stated, “on behalf of all manufacturers across the country, we applaud the efforts of the Canadian negotiating team who worked tirelessly over the past 14 months to secure this new deal and preserve integrated manufacturing supply chains. The signing of this agreement is a significant step for Canadian industry that will hopefully end current business uncertainty and paves the way for a renewed relationship with the United States and Mexico. ”

“The manufacturing sector is the cornerstone of the North American economic relationship and the reason this trade agreement is so critical. We worked closely with the government throughout the negotiation to ensure the integrated manufacturing sector would remain unharmed and strengthened where possible. We believe the USMCA has accomplished this objective. Now that a deal is completed, we encourage negotiators to come to an agreement to end the steel and aluminum tariffs and Canada’s retaliatory counter tariffs.” noted Darby.

Manufacturing directly accounts for roughly 11 percent of Canada’s GDP and over 1.7 million Canadian are employed in the sector. Nearly two-thirds of Canada’s exports are manufactured goods and more than 80 percent of these exports go to our NAFTA partners. Much of this trade is due to the deep integration of manufacturing operations across the NAFTA region and in particular between Canada and the US. This integration has created a unique relationship for our countries; we do not simply trade goods with each other, we build things together, we innovate together, we compete against the rest of the world together.

About Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters

Since 1871, Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters has been helping manufacturers grow at home and thrive around the world. In 2016, CME released Industrie 2030 – a roadmap for doubling Canadian manufacturing activity by 2030. Our focus is to ensure the sector is dynamic, profitable, productive, innovative and growing. We aim to do this by strengthening the labour force, accelerating the adoption of advanced technology, supporting product commercialization, expanding marketplaces and, most importantly, ensuring a globally-competitive business environment. CME is a member-driven association that directly represents more than 2,500 leading companies who account for an estimated 82 per cent of manufacturing output and 90 per cent of Canada’s exports.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Stefi Proulx

Director of Communications & Branding

Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters

613-292-6070

stefi.proulx@cme-mec.ca