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<html> <head> <meta name="Generator" content="Corel WordPerfect 8"> <title>MR. MARCHI - ADDRESS TO THECANADIAN-AMERICAN BUSINESS ASSOCIATION, BROWARD ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL AND FORT LAUDERDALE CONVENTION & TOURISM BUREAU - FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA</title> </head> <body text="#000000" link="#0000ff" vlink="#551a8b" alink="#ff0000" bgcolor="#c0c0c0"> 98/83 CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY NOTES FOR AN ADDRESS BY THE HONOURABLE SERGIO MARCHI MINISTER FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE TO THE CANADIAN-AMERICAN BUSINESS ASSOCIATION, BROWARD ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL AND FORT LAUDERDALE CONVENTION & TOURISM BUREAU FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida December 10, 1998 (1:15 p.m. EST) This document is also available on the Department's Internet site: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca I am delighted to be with you today. Of course, any Canadian would be happy to be in Miami in December! But I do appreciate the warmth -- both of your weather and of your welcome. I come today as a Trade Minister who wants to strengthen our already vibrant commercial relationship. As you well know, Canada and the United States are partners both multilaterally and bilaterally. Yesterday, I attended the 22nd Annual Miami Conference on the Americas and the Caribbean where I addressed the exciting initiatives of the Free Trade Area of the Americas, which is of great importance to the future of our hemispheric community. But I am here today to talk about our bilateral relationship. By any measure, ours is a very rich and dynamic one. One US billion dollars in goods and services moves between our borders every single day. And, I think it is important to point out that 95 percent of all this trade between the United States and Canada occurs without any problem. Unfortunately, there is that 5 percent that garners all the headlines and steals all the attention. To be sure, there are some significant differences between us. We take strong exception, for example, to the Helms Burton Act, which attempts to deny the freedom of other nations to make up their own minds and implement their own policies. We also have great concerns about section 110 of the U.S. Immigration Act which, if implemented, will impede the easy flow of business people across our shared border. Congress has wisely legislated a 30-month delay in its implementation, but we look forward to it being shelved permanently. We appreciate the support we have received from Florida on this issue. Let us continue to work together to ensure that our Canadian "snowbirds" find their way to Florida with minimal disruption at the border. We must not lose sight of the bigger picture. Indeed, ours is the richest bilateral relationship in the world. Americans trade twice as much with Canada as you do with Japan, your second most important trading partner. In fact, my province of Ontario alone does more business with your country than does Japan. Clearly, the free trade agreement between us has benefited both nations. Since its implementation in 1989, trade between us has more than doubled. And the North American Free Trade Agreement [NAFTA] has led to a profound integration of the North American economy. Trade among the United States, Mexico and Canada now exceeds $500 billion -- and those are American dollars! Canadians have particularly recognized the potential of the Southeastern U.S. -- the fastest growing region in America over the past six years. Annual trade between Canada and the Southeast now stands at over $40 billion. This is more than all of the United States trades with Brazil. Looking specifically at Florida, we exchange products worth more than $10 million every day of the year. And it is growing every year. Two-way investment in also up. Some 30 Canadian companies, including Nortel and Bombardier Corporation, have established offices here in your state. Similarly, some of your major companies -- such as Harris Corporation of Melbourne, Florida -- have made significant investments in Canada. But while this success story should be a source of pride -- it must not become a cause for complacency. The reality is that there is still tremendous potential for increased U.S.-Canadian trade. There is still a lot of uncultivated fruit on the vine -- especially among our respective small- and medium-sized businesses. For example, I see a lot of potential for partnerships between Canada and Florida in the area of wetland and water resource mapping. Canada is a world leader in geomatic information sciences, while Florida has major wetland resources that must be mapped and managed. Why not put Canadian expertise to use right here in Florida? Not far from here is Cape Canaveral where the Canadarm Robotic Arm -- developed by Spar Space Systems of Brampton, Ontario, a division of Spar Aerospace Limited -- allows the Space Shuttle to manipulate objects in space. And solid-fuel rockets, made by Bristol Aerospace in Winnipeg, propel the Shuttle itself into space. We need more high-tech collaboration like this. In fact, Canada has a lot to offer Florida in the area of cutting-edge technology. But for this to be fully realized, you need to hear much more about a Canada you may not know, leading the world in areas you might not expect. To many Americans, Canada is still a land of lakes and trees -- a resource-based economy ruled by Mounties and populated by hockey players. Well, that's a nice image, but it's also a little dated. You can imagine my dismay when I caught Wall Street Week with Louis Ruckyser on PBS a few weeks ago. One of the questions from a viewer was why more Canadian stocks are not recommended by American brokers. The expert on the panel said that in most cases, it's simply a lack of awareness on the part of Americans. That's true enough. But then he went on to say how the Canadian economy is concentrated in the resource sector. That is the very kind of myth that needs to be dispelled. The fact is that more Canadians work in electronics than in pulp and paper. And more Canadians work in financial services and communications than in forestry or energy! And as a percentage of our exports, commodities have fallen from about 60 percent in 1980 to just 35 percent in 1997. This amounts to only 12 percent of our GDP! Unfortunately, what is true of that expert on Wall Street Week, is also true of many American investors. Too many harbour similarly outdated images of Canada. When you think of Canada today, you should be thinking high-tech. You should be thinking a knowledge-based economy, fired by information technology, fuelled by telecommunications and fortified by the fifth-largest aerospace industry in the world. You should be thinking of a country that is number one in the G-7 in home computer, cable and telephone penetration. Number one in the G-7 in technology potential. A country that has put every school and library on-line. Canada also has great pools of highly skilled labour available to investors at a lower cost than comparable labour in the United States. Did you know, for example, that the Gourman Report, published in the U.S., has found that of the top 22 electronic engineering departments in North America, 10 are in Canadian universities? When you think of Canada, you should also be thinking a country with sound economic fundamentals. We have balanced our budget -- the first G-7 country to do so. Inflation and interest rates are low and growth is strong. Ours is an outward looking economy, 40 percent of our GDP and one in three jobs in Canada is tied to exports. The Financial Times of London calls Canada the "top dog in the G-7," and The Economist's Intelligence Unit agrees, putting puts Canada among the top five places in the world to do business over the next five years. Certainly, the many, many American and foreign corporations with investments in Canada wouldn't disagree. Their profits have risen an average of 50 percent over the last two years. And in a world where technology allows companies to settle almost anywhere, quality of life considerations become very important in deciding where to set up a business. And Canada offers many advantages on that front. Advantages like a health care system that doesn't check your credit rating before it checks your blood pressure. Advantages like safe communities, clean streets, a superbly educated workforce and spectacular natural beauty. Advantages that have led the United Nations to rank Canada as the number one country in the world for five years running in terms of quality of life. In short, there has never been a better time to invest in Canada or to partner with Canadian firms. When President Kennedy addressed the Canada's Parliament in 1962, he reminded us that "geography has made us neighbours, history has made us friends and commerce has made us partners." Today, we have the opportunity to build on that historic friendship and expand our commercial partnership. Let us pursue these two worthwhile goals. And let us do so with goodwill and as good neighbours, knowing that great as our past achievements have been, there are still greater days ahead of us. Thank you. </body> </html>

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