Trade Winds — a Four-Part Series on Shifting Attitudes Toward Trade Agreements

Part 2: Canadian Businesses Enjoy Incredible Trade Support; So Why Aren’t They Using It?

Written by Stephan Galarneau, Vice President, Inside Sales, North America at Livingston International Canada.

With so much public debate in the United States about the disparate advantages of trade deals, one might think American companies are struggling to find ways to make use of free trade agreements (FTAs).

Not so. In fact, according to a recent research by Livingston International, Canadian businesses find it much more difficult to enter export markets than their U.S. counterparts.

The research shows 23 percent of Canadian businesses find it hard or very hard to enter the export market, versus only 16 percent of U.S. businesses. Moreover, while Canadian and U.S. businesses tend to make use of FTAs at a relatively equal level, U.S. businesses tend to be more diversified in their use of FTAs.