Ambassador Kirk met today with Canada Minister for International Trade Peter Van Loan. Van Loan, who was appointed trade minister in January 2010, is making his first trip to Washington in this position. Ambassador Kirk and Minister Van Loan have worked closely together on a number of bilateral and regional issues, including reaching agreement on government procurement announced in February 2010.
Canada and the United States are each other’s largest trading partners, and have enjoyed preferential access to each other’s market under a bilateral free trade agreement since 1989 and under the North American Free Trade Agreement since 1994. Last years, Canada was the largest export market for 34 U.S. states, and the second largest for another 11. Trade between the United States and Canada has tripled over that period.
Deputy USTR Miriam Sapiro and Ambassador Kirk with Minister Van Loan and Ambassador Gary Doer
