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The Canadian Chamber of Commerce, and by extension the Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce, is behind a coalition advocating free trade principles within North America and around the world.

Keep Trade Free is intended to help organizations mobilize at the local, state and federal levels to advocate for freer trade within North American and around the world, as well as to ensure a successful renegotiation of NAFTA for continued economic prosperity for Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.

While the principles of free trade are well-recognized as producing net benefits for all those involved, current initiatives by the U.S. threaten to destabilize the free flow of goods and services in ways that can already be seen.

The idea that “we are all in this together” is a message that is resonating with Keep Trade Free supporters.

The facts on the table worth considering in any discussion around trade:

• Canada is the largest trading partner of the U.S., resulting in U.S. companies relying on Canadian buyers to the tune of nearly 300 billion USD.
• Nearly nine million U.S. jobs depend on trade with Canada, which leaves the U.S. at risk of losing two million of those jobs by 2026 with continued tariffs and a failure to reach a new NAFTA agreement.
• Each American household stands to lose more than 1,000 USD of purchasing power without a renewed NAFTA. With an average household income of 59,000 USD, families will lose up to 20% of what they have to spend after paying all of their bills. That is real pain for the average U.S. family.
• More than two-thirds of a trillion USD of goods and services cross the U.S.-Canada border every year, which amounts to nearly a quarter of all U.S. trade.
• The supply chains of U.S. and Canadian companies are so inextricably integrated that it would take companies three to five years to fully restore their suppliers with solely domestic providers. No company can weather that storm, U.S. or Canadian.

Canada and the U.S. have been growing together as neighbours for nearly 200 years, creating shared prosperity for businesses on both sides of the border.

We need to come together with one voice to protect North American companies and jobs because we are already one business community.

The Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce has updated its Municipal Election 2018 page to include important dates, resources and official lists of candidates throughout the area.

Look for the information to be updated as the election nears.

In the meantime, members are encouraged to check out the @sarniaelections Facebook page for information on Sarnia candidates, a forum that provides highlights and the opportunity to ask questions.

Live in Sarnia? Check out the City’s website for a series of videos explaining how electronic voting works.

Still have questions? You can also attend one of two public information sessions that will take place at Sarnia City Hall on Wednesday, September 19 at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Last week, members of the Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce Trade Corridor Task Force met with members of the St. Clair Economic Development Alliance to look for ways each group can continue to promote trade in the region.

With major highways—I-69, I-94, and Highways 402 and 401—bisecting Ontario and Michigan, the opportunities for communities to attract business investment and create jobs can’t be overlooked.

As one of the key points discussed, the Trade Corridor Task Force on the Canadian side of the border is in the process of applying for Foreign Trade Zone designation, which St. Clair County has already secured.

The two groups plan to continue meeting and building on this important binational relationship.

While members of the Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce will be represented at the upcoming Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Thunder Bay (September 22-24, 2018), an opportunity to provide input into various issues that will be debated will come in the next few weeks.

Local Chamber officials (staff and board members) will be reviewing some 70 policies ahead of the AGM.

As part of that process, members are invited to weigh in with their thoughts and opinion.

If you’d like to be part of those discussions, contact Monica Shepley, the Chamber’s manager of advocacy and policy development.

The Chamber recently co-hosted an informal “roundtable” of local business representatives organized to provide input on business issues to two Federal Opposition Members of Parliament, including Conservative House Leader Candice Bergen and Sarnia-Lambton MP Marilyn Gladu.

“We were rolling out a ‘defend local jobs’ initiative across the country, an opportunity to hear from local job creators on issues such as NAFTA,” said Gladu. “Pairing up with the Chamber seemed like a natural fit.”

There was significant representation from the local manufacturing sector as well as the petrochemical industry and the conversation began by talking about recent government initiatives, including a carbon tax.

A summary of the key points offered by Chamber members in attendance included the need to:

• Eliminate uncertainty
• Use the U.S. government’s stance on trade being a security issue to get Canadian pipelines built
• Reduce taxes to a level that is competitive with the U.S.
• Settle NAFTA negotiations
• Encourage trade with other countries
• Break down provincial barriers
• Promote the $2 billion in new support programs established by the federal government to help workers and businesses in the steel, aluminum and manufacturing industries.
• Promote Sarnia-Lambton’s bio-hybrid industry
• Provide universal child care to free up money so it can be reinvested in the economy
• Produce more Canadian-made goods
• Support and move forward on the Trans Pacific Partnership and CETA (the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreements) and increase trade with countries besides the U.S.
• Make a compelling case to invest in Ontario by being more competitive on environmental regulations, energy costs and taxes
• Increase recognition of Sarnia-Lambton as a significant international gateway and our contribution to the national economy when it comes to trade
• Scrap the carbon tax
• Train workers for the skills and jobs that our economy needs
• Build trust in politicians and be less critical
• Invest in capital

Gladu said, in review of the roundtable, that there is a need to better communicate the benefit of existing laws, including one that allows Canadian businesses that import raw materials from the U.S. to receive rebates on any tariffs after the finished products are exported.