North-South Partners

Ask the average American to identify the biggest trading partner of the United States, and the answer is likely to be Japan. In fact, the volume of trade between the United States and Canada is the greatest of any two nations in the world. Most significantly, Canada is far and away the biggest foreign buyer of American goods, with purchases of about $55 billion in 1986. That was more than twice the value of American goods bought by Japan, and it exceeded the combined purchases of the United Kingdom, West Germany and Mexico.

Furthermore, Canada is the fastest-growing market for American goods. U.S. sales to Canada increased by 45% between 1982 and 1986, compared with an overall growth in American exports of just 2%.

For this and other reasons, the forging of a comprehensive trade agreement between the two North American nations adds up to both good sense and good business. A welcome byproduct might be the blunting of protectionist feelings in this country.

During his Sunday-Monday visit with Prime Minister Brian Mulroney in Ottawa, President Reagan committed his Administration “to good-faith negotiations that will make this proposal a reality.” But time is short, and the most difficult issues remain to be negotiated. Canadians may be pardoned if they remain somewhat skeptical until the United States backs up its rhetoric with action, given the Administration’s foot-dragging on the acid-rain issue.

Both nations clearly could benefit from a trade agreement. But it must include a vehicle for quick resolution of disputes so that the two neighbors can avoid retaliatory battles such as that waged recently by Americans against imports of Canadian cedar products.

Reagan made a blunt point about past Canadian discrimination against California wines. And Americans are upset by recent Canadian moves to license the distribution of U.S. films in Canada as a means of encouraging greater Canadian film production. But Canada is overwhelmed by American communications media, particularly movies and television. The United States must exhibit some patience with Canadian efforts to maintain a separate cultural indentity.

Such disputes pale beside the magnitude of U.S.-Canadian trade, however, and the importance of the two nations to each other. The United States too often treats Canada like a bothersome cousin. It is time to deal with Canada as a true partner.