RBC study revisits Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement on 20th anniversary of accord

On the 20th anniversary of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and in cooperation with Policy Option Magazine, RBC has issued an updated study debunking myths that were prevalent at the time the FTA was adopted. The study appears in this month’s edition of Policy Option Magazine published today, and is available on the RBC website at www.rbc.com/newsroom.

What:
An economic study that examines a wide range of data showing Canada’s economic performance before and after free trade - dismissing eight FTA myths, including:

Production would shift south

Exports would evaporate

Why invest in Canada?

Politics would require a strong Canadian dollar

Jobs would dry up

Canada is for sale

Canadian businesses would be hard-pressed to restructure

Governments would see their tax bases shrivel

Who:
Craig Wright, RBC’s Chief Economist and Derek Holt, RBC’s Assistant Chief Economist are available for interviews.