Ottawa – With so much uncertainty swirling around the future of American foreign and trade policy, members of the Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce travelled to New York City and Washington, D.C. on a four-day fact finding trip. They discussed important issues facing the economies of both countries in the early days of the new Trump administration. They also had a dialogue on current and emerging issues regarding U.S. financial sector regulation, NAFTA, U.S. monetary policy, and other vital issues related to Canada-U.S. economic relations.

While in the U.S., Senators held meetings with representatives from U.S. organizations, including numerous government departments and agencies involved in the regulation of the financial sector. They also met with individuals from the banking sector, investment community, think tanks and trade associations.

They returned to Canada on May 11, and will now begin distilling what they learned while in New York and Washington into a report that will be tabled before June 30, 2017. The report will include their discussions regarding the possible renegotiation of NAFTA, and on possible changes coming to American financial sector regulations, U.S. monetary policy, and other issues that could affect the two highly interconnected economies.

Quick Facts

• Canada is America’s largest customer; it is the top market for most U.S. states.
• In 2016, Canada purchased nearly $430 billion in goods and services from the United States. Bilateral trade in goods and services exceeded $882 billion in that year.
• Canada buys more from the United States than does any other nation.

Quotes

“NAFTA is top of mind for Canadians since the White House has signaled its intent to reconsider its terms. The more Canada and the United States can understand each other’s interests, the better able they are to find mutually beneficial ways to improve the already strong economic relationship to make it work better for both countries.”

- Senator David Tkachuk, Chair of the committee

“Canadian-American relations are complex and intertwined at the best of times. From time to time, it’s useful to take stock of what’s working, what’s not and how to improve things. The Senate Committee on Baking, Trade and Commerce is in a prime position to do that at this critical point in the partnership.”

- Senator Joseph A. Day, Deputy Chair of the committee

Associated Links

• Follow the committee on social media using the hashtag #BANC
• Check out photos from the committee’s latest fact-finding mission on Facebook
• Sign up for the Senate’s eNewsletter.

For more information, please contact:

Sonia Noreau
Media Relations Coordinator
Senate of Canada
613-614-1180 | sonia.noreau@sen.parl.gc.ca