Trade between Quebec and the United States. Banking on each party’s strengths

Now that we are witnessing a changing of the guard at the White House, rising protectionism and a weak Canadian dollar, we might well wonder what trend will dominate bilateral trade between Quebec and the United States in the years to come. It’s hard to say, since the uncertainties are multiplying. Our American neighbour buys over 70% of Quebec’s international exports, so we feel a shiver down our collective spine when we hear talk about renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). But a portion of this bilateral trade consists of movements of goods between plants of a given company that has operations on both sides of the border. Questions need to be asked about the feasibility of replacing all the Quebec products that are used as input for goods labelled “Made in USA.”