Trade
Québec was one of the key promoters of the Free Trade Agreement signed by Canada and the United States in 1989 that eliminated most customs barriers between the two countries. It also supported the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) signed with the United States and Mexico; this agreement came into force in 1994 and gave Québec access to a market consisting of over 430 million consumers, 25% living within a radius of 1000 km from its borders, and generating a gross GDP of over US$12 000 billion.
The United States is Québec’s largest trading partner, and imported $63.7 billion of merchandise from Québec in 2005 ($158 million per day). This represents 80% of Québec’s foreign trade. 60% of Québec’s trade is with states in the US Northeast and Midwest. The economic importance of the states in the US South and Southeast is growing fast, and they now account for 25% of all Québec exports.
36% of Québec’s international imports come from the United States.
The city of Montréal is less than one hour’s flight away from several key economic centres. It occupies a strategic position in North America, since it is located:
- 400 km (250 miles) from Boston;
- 550 km (350 miles) from New York;
- 800 km (500 miles) from Washington D.C.;
- 1200 km (750 miles) from Chicago;
- 1600 km (1 000 miles) from Atlanta;
- 2300 km (1 400 miles) from Miami;
- 4000 km (2 500 miles) from Los Angeles.
