Americans minimize Canada's trade role - Poll results: Few in U.S. aware neighbour is their leading source of energy
www.nationalpost.com Peter Morton Financial Post Saturday, February 22, 2003
WASHINGTON - Americans have only a vague idea that their largest trading partner is Canada, according to a new poll done for a Canadian softwood lumber lobby group.
Only 12% knew Canada was the largest buyer of American goods and services but others believed the Japanese, China, Britain and Mexico were further ahead, the poll done by Taylor Helsom Sofres Intersearch found.
In addition, only 1% of Americans were aware Canada is the leading source of oil and natural gas to the United States, with most pointing to Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Venezuela, Kuwait, Mexico and Iran as bigger suppliers of energy.
The poll was conducted between Feb. 14 and 16 for the U.S.-Canada Partnership for Growth, a Washington-based group partially funded by the Canadian Forest Products Association and Ottawa.
"The citizens of the United States remain unaware of the enormous interdependence of the U.S. and Canadian relationship," said William Brock, a former U.S. senator who, with James Blanchard, the former U.S. ambassador to Canada, co-chair the group founded last fall.
"These survey results show just how far we need to go to inform Americans on their neighbours to the north," he said yesterday.
Canada and the U.S. are world's largest trading partners with two-way trade hovering around US$1.3-billion a day, much of that in automobiles and parts as well as exports from Western Canada of oil and natural gas.
"Americans are stunned every time they learn that Canada -- and not a country in the Middle East -- is the largest provider of oil and natural gas to the U.S.," said Mr. Blanchard, a former governor of Michigan.
Canada supplies more than 15% of natural gas consumed in the United States but shares top spot as oil exporter with Saudi Arabia and Mexico, depending on market and seasons. Generally, The United States imports heavy oil from Canada but usually imports lighter grade oil, used for gasoline and heating oil, from Saudia Arabia and Venezuela.
Chris Sands, a Canada expert at the Center for International and Strategic Studies in Washington, said he was not surprised the poll found that few Americans were aware of the trading relationship with Canada.
"The economies are so similar that it is hard to think of things that are Canadian-made," he said. "Some countries have signature products like Japan. Perhaps Americans would think of Canada when they bought hockey sticks."
The partnership has been trying to raise the profile of Canada both in Washington and elsewhere by running television commercials on CNN and advertisements in The New York Times and USA Today to put pressure on Congress to end the long-running softwood lumber dispute.
Canadian and U.S. negotiators are meeting in Washington this weekend in a bid to close the remaining gaps that would see an end to a 27% import duty imposed last March on Canadian lumber shipped into the U.S. market. So far, the U.S. administration has collected about US$1-billion in duties from Canadian exporters.
Although the two sides are much closer to a deal, they are far apart on an interim agreement that would see Ottawa impose a temporary export tax while the four major timber producing provinces -- British Columbia, Quebec, Ontario and Alberta -- reform their management practices to bring them closer in line to a U.S.-styled market system.
Sources close to the talks said yesterday the U.S. lumber industry is still demanding an export tax as high as 25%, depending on lumber prices, while the Canadian side is not willing to go higher than 18%.