Is the Bond still strong? Canada-U.S. Business Relations

Address by Thomas J. Donohue
President and CEO, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Toronto, Ontario — April 3, 2003

(As Prepared for Delivery)

I have come to speak to you today at the strong urging of our many friends in Canada, including senior members of the Canadian business community and the government – friends who are deeply concerned about the relationship between our countries during this very challenging time.

Two such friends deserve special mention. M.P. Dennis Mills and Barry Appleton have moved heaven and earth to put this meeting together on very short notice. Both Dennis and Barry are leaders in the effort to defend and strengthen the remarkable business, trade, and investment relationships that we have fostered between our countries.

I'd also like to thank and acknowledge one of our great Chamber members and a member of the Chamber's board of directors, Belinda Stronach, President and CEO of Magna International.

Let me also tell you that Canada's interests are being represented with extraordinary skill and dedication by your ambassador to our country, Michael Kergin. I know this from the many positive contacts we have had and you are lucky to have him there during this critical time.

Now, I'm not one for beating around the bush. I believe in plain speaking — and it's a testament to the strong friendship ties between Canadians and Americans that we can speak plainly to each other.

The U.S.-Canada relationship has hit a few bumps in the road. We all know this. And while these bumps can't be ignored or dismissed, they will not stop the journey we are making together to forge a truly integrated North American economy that lifts all our citizens to new levels of opportunity and progress.

They will not stop this journey as long as the business communities of both nations demonstrate strong and principled leadership. I am here today on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American business community to join with you in advancing that leadership.

The source of the current strain in our relationship is no secret. Americans have responded to the Canadian government's lack of support for the military campaign in Iraq with a mixture of surprise and disappointment.

In addition, many Americans – including myself – found the personal attacks on President Bush launched by some Members of Parliament and the government to be offensive and hurtful. A number of business and political leaders in Canada have publicly condemned such comments – and we applaud them.

I am confident that many Canadians understand that the U.S. agenda was profoundly reshaped by 9/11. Most Americans – and most importantly, our President – believe in their hearts that winning in Iraq is absolutely critical to winning the larger war against terrorism.

I will never forget what President Bush told a small group of us meeting with him at the White House. He said: "I'm just afraid I'm going to wake up one day and learn I'm too late."

So yes, we are going through a tense and challenging period in our relationship. But as far as I'm concerned, it's "all in the family" – because Canadians and Americans really are a family. We will work through these problems like the best families do — and the business communities of both nations will lead the way.

The place to begin is to remind our governments and our citizens again and again just how essential our bilateral commercial relationship is to jobs, prosperity, national wealth and our free way of life.

And we must take the lead in steering our nations through one of the most significant challenges stemming from 9/11 — and that is how strengthen our economies while improving both security and the flow of commerce and people along our border.

As complex as the border security issue is, I challenge anyone to find two neighboring countries anywhere in the world who are better suited to work together in search of solutions than Canada and the U.S.

We enjoy the largest and most comprehensive economic relationship in the entire world. 25% of U.S. exports are shipped to Canada. That's more than we export to all 15-member states of the European Union—combined.

From the Canadian perspective, exports to the United States account for nearly one-third of Canada's economic output. Canadian investors have poured more than $100 billion into the United States, and U.S. companies have invested $140 billion in Canada. $1.3 billion dollars worth of business crosses the Canada-U.S. border every single day — double what it was before NAFTA.

Does this mean that we have the perfect trading relationship? Certainly not. Do we have disputes from time to time? Of course we do. Show me two trading partners that don't. Whether it's over softwood lumber, agriculture, or high tech products, disagreements between us on the terms and conditions of trade will sprout up from time to time.

In a competitive global economy, that's normal, even between two friends as close as we are. But we must never lose sight of the fact that 99% of our trade is dispute-free—and that other 1% shouldn't be allowed to weaken our friendship.

Beyond trade, it's really our shared beliefs, principles and views of the world that form the foundation of our friendship.

Building on a long history of mutual support, Canada since 9/11 has supported the United States in the war on terrorism in many ways.

Ambassador Cellucci in his widely noted speech last week pointed out just how broad and deep that collaboration is. News coverage of that speech failed to convey the breadth of Canada-U.S. collaboration the ambassador described — from caring for tens of thousands of stranded airline passengers to securing the peace in Afghanistan, sometimes at a tragic cost.

Perhaps most importantly, we are open societies. We are free societies. We are mobile people who treasure the opportunity to trade and travel around the world, to head out for a new frontier to try a new idea. If we squander such wonderful freedoms, we will not only suffer economically but we stand to lose a good measure of our distinctive character as Americans and Canadians. And then the Osama bin Ladens of the world will have won.

We can't and we won't let that happen – and dealing with security issues along our border is the place to prove it. How do we protect our borders without sealing off the valuable flow of people and products that sustains our economies and our way of life?

We can look upon this question as a problem, or we can see it as an opportunity – an opportunity to make our borders more secure and more efficient at the same time. An opportunity to significantly upgrade a border infrastructure system that has been starved for badly needed investment for decades.

Many people talk about "striking a balance" between commerce and security, as if to imply that the only solution is to accept a little less prosperity and a little less security. But that's not good enough in my book. We should aim higher and find win-win solutions for trade and safety.

Through new technology and the Smart Border accord, we have the potential to keep those with criminal or terrorist backgrounds out of our countries without having to endure 4-hour logjams at border crossings.

To achieve this goal, the U.S. Chamber has been present at the creation of the new U.S. Department of Homeland Security from the very beginning. Establishing this new department with tens of thousands of employees is a daunting task. Many top officials have yet to be named. But the commitment of the department's top officials to work with the business community is not in doubt. We've been very pleased at how open Secretary Tom Ridge and others have been.

It seems we have one of the top DHS officials over at the Chamber every week, consulting with our staff and members. Canadian companies should be at this table as well – and some already are as good members of our Chamber.

When it comes to border issues in the post-9/11 world, the decisions, the problem-solving and even security-related procurement opportunities are going to take place in the context of the dialogue the Chamber and our business allies have established with new department. We want our Canadian friends to be full participants in this dialogue.

As I have suggested, it's hard to overstate the importance President Bush and the Congress place on security today. The U.S. is committed to building the infrastructure necessary to screen and monitor potentially unsafe cargo and travelers.

Our friends in government sometimes see only the potential benefits of increased security, blind to the costs it could impose on our "just-in-time" economy. The U.S. Chamber and the coalition "Americans for Better Borders"—which includes our friends at the Canadian Chamber—have been on the front lines to ensure that increased security measures are truly effective and are achieved without choking off the trade and jobs on which our people depend.

In fact, on April 24 our National Chamber Foundation will sponsor a major conference on the global supply chain, exploring issues of cargo security and other challenges brought about by the threat of terrorism. Secretary Tom Ridge and other senior experts and policymakers will participate.

In the end, the responsibility rests with business to speak out and insist that YES, we need to enhance security at our borders — but we ALSO must ensure that we can continue to move people and goods across the border with speed and efficiency. This is a challenge and an opportunity that businesses on both sides of the border must pursue together.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me conclude and move to questions by reminding you that Canada and the United States have worked together throughout our history as free nations to build a relationship of trust and mutual support.

Our economies are interdependent and in the future they will become more interdependent. The United States will come to rely on Canada as the source or through-point for our energy supply, even more than we do today.

We have opportunities to work more closely together to clean the environment, building on the substantial progress we have already made. We already educate each other's children in institutions of higher learning. We entertain each other through our vibrant film and entertainment industries. We also share common issues in health care.

By building on our positive experience with NAFTA, we can lead the entire Hemisphere to greater prosperity by pushing forward on a Free Trade Agreement with the Americas. Such an agreement has enormous potential for our own economies and for all people in the Americas. And when the war in Iraq is over, we look forward to Canada's participation in the reconstruction of Iraq, and hopefully a renewed partnership in the United Nations and in pursuit of peace in the Middle East.

You can see that in so many areas of human endeavor we face a common destiny as friends and neighbors – big challenges to be sure, but more importantly, extraordinary opportunities.

With the stakes as high as they can be, all of us in business, government, labor, education and in every aspect of our societies must make a personal effort to tighten the bonds between us, to build on the tremendous relationship we have enjoyed for our sovereign benefit.

At the beginning of my remarks I mentioned the need for plain speaking. I would like to conclude in that spirit as well.

We value Canada as part of our family – and we Americans hope you always consider us part of yours. We value Canada as our largest international market and source of so much of the energy that powers our economy. We value Canada as a friend and ally whose sons and daughters have sacrificed their lives for freedom alongside our sons and daughters. We value Canada for all you have done to help us meet the threat of terrorism.

Recently Ambassador Cellucci said that there is no security threat to Canada that the United States would not be ready, willing and able to help with. And he's right.

And so we miss Canada in our hour of struggle and conflict. As would be the case in any family, we are hurt because some in Canada have gone beyond the bounds of what is appropriate in their comments towards the head of our U.S. family, our President and commander-in-chief.

We can't control what the commentators, the entertainers and private citizens say, but we hope and pray that people in positions of responsibility – especially government officials – would comport themselves respectfully and responsibly. And that goes for leaders on both sides of the border.

Canada and the United States represent two proud, distinctive nations — nations that are bound together in friendship, mutual respect, shared values and by a common border. Today this friendship is being challenged by the realities of the new world in which we live.

There is no doubt in my mind – no doubt whatsoever— that our countries will master this great challenge. Business will lead the way, and I pledge to all of you that we will put the full strength and resources of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States behind the effort to strengthen and expand our vital commercial relationship.

If we do this and do it together, then we will not only preserve the blessings of liberty, democracy and prosperity for future generations of Canadians and Americans, but we will also extend these wonderful blessings around the world.