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Introduction History Statistics Physical Infrastructure Political Infrastructure Legal Infrastructure Infrastructure Costs - Conclusion - |
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| This project has attempted to show the overall effort involved in developing and maintaining the physical, political and legal infrastructure involved in free trade between the United States in Canada. Getting at the costs associated with the infrastructure is a overwhelming proposition. Many of the costs are embedded deep within the budgets of the various organizations. Most organizations associated with free trade have only a portion of their mandate associated specifically with trade between the US and Canada. Breaking the US/Canada component out of those budgets is perhaps not impossible but far beyond the scope of this project in its current form. As noted in the introduction, with the advent of the NAFTA, much of the data available is associated with Mexico, Canada and the US. In fact, most of the recent news and academic documentation, from the United States perspective, is almost exclusively related to US/Mexico trade and security relations. In getting at the costs of the trade infrastructure, this project has failed. However, as start has been made in trying to understand the magnitude of trade between Canada and the US. Another event that made a difference both in terms of trade, or at least cross-border interaction, was the 911 attack on the world trade center. Trade has not stopped or even slowed down, except for a brief period immediately after the event. However, getting beyond the security aspects of relations between the US and Canada to the pure economics of trade is very difficult. This project has attempted to find sources available via the internet. To provide a more thorough exposition, let alone analysis, of the trade relations between the US and Canada, much more research both on-line and through traditional research methods. A survey of available non-electronic literature, interviews, letter and telephone enquires are just some examples of methods that would be necessary to cover the breadth of the topic. If nothing else, this project has proved that the activity of trade is a complex and dynamic interplay of politics, an underlying legal framework and the transportation systems necessary for that trade to take place. However, this project has only scratched the surface. Free trade, between Canada and the US has been important for some time and will continue to be so moving forward. It is important to understand the infrastructure costs of this critical component of both country's economies. After all, one way or another, the citizens of each country are paying for it. |