Minister Van Loan Promotes Deeper Canada-U.S. Ties

(Minister of International Trade)

The Honourable Peter Van Loan, Minister of International Trade, today wrapped up his first official visit to Washington, D.C., where he and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk agreed to hold regular meetings to keep the Canada-U.S. trade relationship strong.

“The United States is Canada’s most valuable trading partner and it is important that we have meetings twice a year to seize the opportunities and address the challenges that lie ahead of us,” said Minister Van Loan. “Building on our already strong economic partnership with the United States helps create jobs, stimulates our economies and ensures our long-term competitiveness. I look forward to welcoming Ambassador Kirk to Canada this summer.”

In 2009, Canada-U.S. bilateral trade in goods and services was over $592.7 billion, with $1.6-billion worth of goods and services crossing the Canada-U.S. border every single day.

In addition, Minister Van Loan and Ambassador Kirk discussed a wide range of issues of mutual interest, including the importance of resisting protectionist tendencies and continuing to promote free and open trade, additional access to procurement markets on a permanent basis, the softwood lumber agreement and future multilateral trade agreement opportunities. The Minister emphasized that a lasting economic recovery should be the top priority for our partners worldwide. Read more here.