An Economy Integrated with the North American Market

 The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has opened a huge market to Québec: in 1988, prior to NAFTA, Québec’s international exports accounted for 21% of GDP;  today, they account for 37% of GDP.

 More than 80% of international exports are shipped to the U.S., which bought more than $63.7 billion worth of merchandise from Québec in 2005.

 The strength of the trade relation between the U.S. and Québec is confirmed by the ranking of U.S. economic partners. Québec is the seventh-largest exporter to the American market after the U.K. and ahead of South Korea.

 Québec is also an excellent customer of the U.S.: it ranks fourth as an export market, ahead of China, the United Kingdom, Germany and South Korea.

Source:  "Economic and Financial Profile of Québec 2006"  (pdf)