CARDUS

Tradescapes

January 15, 2008

Russ Kuykendall

Work & Economics

Research Report

Tradescapes, a Trade Corridors summary document from the September 11, 2007 Roundtable (published January 2008). This document is a summary of the three prominent models for understanding trade: gateways, global value chains and trade corridors. This summary overviews each tradescape, including the strengths and weaknesses of each and how each serves the Canadian economy. The focus of this paper shifts to the ability of Trade Corridors to account for the strengths of the other metaphors, and how Canada’s largest export sectors or Trade Corridors are focused on the U.S. market. Challenges arising from the three most valuable Trade Corridors are summarized and, then, how recent public policy has affected them. Finally, “the Canadian advantage” that arises from Canada’s Trade Corridors is described—factors that position Canada favourably in respect of international trade with the United States, in particular.

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