Ambassador Cohen - thank you very much for taking the time to share a window on your work as well as some perspectives on the economic ties between Canada and the United States with our readers who live and work in over 25 markets and in over 25 sectors across our countries.
For some context, how would you describe the role of the U.S. Embassy in Canada and what are the primary areas of focus of your team?
The work we do at the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa – and across our seven consulates throughout Canada – is guided by the Roadmap for a Renewed U.S.-Canada Partnership, which was released by President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau following their virtual visit in February 2021. We’re fortunate to have a document where our leaders have laid out a shared vision for how we will revitalize and expand the historic alliance between the United States and Canada. It’s the kind of shared, ambitious, and strategic vision that could only be put in place by the closest of friends and allies.
The Roadmap is comprehensive – but also with very practical implications. It’s not just about prosperity, or security, or shared values. It’s about all these things and more. The Roadmap is organized around six pillars: combatting COVID-19; building back better from the pandemic – very importantly, in an equitable fashion; accelerating our climate ambitions; advancing diversity and inclusion; bolstering security and defense; and building global alliances.
With respect to the economic relationship between the United States and Canada, where are you devoting most of your attention this year?
As President Biden’s personal representative in Canada, my priority is maintaining and advancing the U.S.-Canada relationship. That includes restoring trust and re-instilling confidence between partners. Everywhere I go, I want to make sure Canadians know that the United States is back and that we want to strengthen our partnership with Canada.
With respect to the economic relationship, building back better is a key pillar in the Roadmap for a Renewed U.S.-Canada Partnership and a particular focus of mine. Building back better is about working to ensure a sustainable and inclusive economic recovery – as President Biden frequently says, building from the bottom up and middle out. It’s about economic growth that strengthens the middle class, creates more opportunities for hard working people, and ensures people have good jobs and careers on both sides of our shared border.
Building back better also involves working together to create a more just and equitable society. Small- and medium-sized enterprises were hardest hit by the pandemic – and SMEs owned by women, people of color, Indigenous peoples, and other underrepresented groups were hit hardest of all. We can’t really build back from the pandemic unless we make sure everyone has a chance.
In terms of particular sectors, we have been paying a lot of attention to the energy transition. We have focused on critical minerals development, on alternative clean energy sources such as electrical vehicle manufacturing and the entire supply chain that supports that development and nuclear, and on clean tech research and development such as carbon capture and lithium recycling. We also have had a significant focus on defense procurement.
As you consider our bilateral economic ties, which sectors stand out for you as some of the greatest opportunities for collaboration and partnership between our countries in the coming years?
In their closing Joint Statement following the President’s visit to Ottawa in March 2023, President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau outlined key priorities and pledged to work together to catalyze clean energy, create good jobs, and strengthen resilience of critical mineral and semiconductor supply chains.
Under the Biden-Harris Administration, the United States has set ambitious targets to cut U.S. emissions by 50 to 52 percent below 2005 levels by 2030; to reach 100 percent carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035; and to achieve a net-zero emissions economy by 2050. Canada has also committed to net-zero by 2050 with a 40 to 45 percent emissions reduction by 2030 and a pollution-free grid by 2035. To achieve these urgent emission reduction goals, however, we need to accelerate our transition to clean energy – and to do that, we need critical minerals. It’s as simple as that.
The International Energy Agency has predicted that demand for most minerals essential to the clean energy transition will increase four to six times over the next decade and a half. For some minerals, the increase will be exponential. By 2040, graphite demand, for example, will increase by 25 times, and lithium by 42 times.
The Inflation Reduction Act, or the IRA, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, modifications to the Defense Procurement Act, and other U.S. programs help address the objectives our leaders outlined, build integrated supply chains, and make North America more competitive.
This collection of programs presents incredible opportunities for the United States, and for Canada and Mexico, to open new avenues for trade and manufacturing in clean energy, and to strengthen regional supply chains, which are the lifeblood of our economies. We are furthering North American prosperity, North American competitiveness, development of North American businesses, and creating an allyship for taking on climate change.
How important is our trading relationship and our overall economic ties in the broader context of the challenges that Canada and the United States face together globally?
The trade relationship between the United States and Canada is the envy of the world. Each day, USD 2.5 billion in trade – that’s CAD 3.25 billion – crosses between the United States and Canada, generating millions of jobs on both sides of the border. Trade between Canada and the United States grew 19 percent year-over-year in 2022. Almost all of that is free trade, not subject to any restrictions.
In the broader context of the global challenges that we are taking on together, creating a secure and sustainable economy in the face of the economic and geopolitical realities of today is of the upmost importance to the United States and to Canada.
U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a speech on economic policy in April that while “we will unapologetically pursue our industrial strategy at home, we are also unambiguously committed to not leaving our friends behind. We want them to join us. In fact, we need them to join us.”
President Biden said it himself while in Ottawa. In his address to Parliament, the President spoke about what the future holds for our partnership. He said, “It’s a future built on shared prosperity, where Canada and the United States continue to anchor the most competitive, prosperous, and resilient economic region in the world.”
Is there a role for non-governmental organizations on both sides of the border, particularly at a sub-national level, to encourage more bilateral trade, investment, and innovation collaborations between our nations?
Absolutely. Part of the true strength of the U.S.-Canada relationship is our people-to-people connections, and non-governmental organizations are a key piece of that. NGOs are moving our societies forward on green business practices, transitioning to the next phase in North American energy independence, and are essential to the innovation and new ideas that have made us such a competitive, prosperous, and resilient economic powerhouse.
One of the ways in which NGOs can play an important role is by bringing people together to share ideas and best practices, and to consider solutions to challenges that we face on both sides of the border.
Groups like the MAPLE Business Council are a great example of organizations that are bringing people together across sectors and across our shared border to strengthen the economic relationship between the United States and Canada.
MAPLE Business Council has had the privilege of working with the U.S. Commercial Service in Canada together with the U.S. Consulate General offices in Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver to co-host SelectUSA events in Vancouver preceding the SelectUSA conference for several years. How can Canadian companies best engage with the SelectUSA program and what can they expect from participating?
The U.S.-Canada bilateral investment relationship totals nearly USD 1 trillion. The United States is Canada’s leading investor, and Canada is the third largest investor in the United States.
SelectUSA is the U.S. federal-level program dedicated to facilitating and promoting high impact business investment into the United States. It helps Canadian companies gather market information, navigate the regulatory framework, get acquainted with U.S. economic development organizations and the assistance they provide, and get answers to questions about visas and immigration. We offer support throughout the investment process – from exploration to execution. We are here to see you successfully expand your business to the United States.
One of the ways that you can engage our SelectUSA team is through our global event. Held annually in May, the SelectUSA Summit is a massive multi-day event that pulls together senior federal officials and state organizations to inform your decisions. It is an event with days of panels to explain best practices for investing in the United States. I have led the Canadian delegation for the last two years and they have been fantastic events. We also have the Canada SelectUSA Conference coming up in Montreal December 12 and we’d be happy to talk with interested Canadian companies about their attendance and participation. Separate from Summit events and conferences, our team at the U.S. Embassy Ottawa, and at our Consulates in Toronto, Montreal, and Calgary stand ready to support U.S. and Canadian businesses with their investment goals in the United States! To contact our team, visit our website at www.trade.gov/canadaselectusa.
What has surprised you the most about Canada since you have become the U.S. Ambassador to Canada?
Something that strikes me every time I travel is how unique each city and province across Canada truly is. I always say that I wasn’t nominated as U.S. Ambassador to Ottawa. I am the U.S. Ambassador to Canada. It is important for me to travel and hear from people across the whole country – and I spend a significant amount of time doing just that. My travels have given me a much better understanding of Canadians and what matters to them, as well as a clear sense of just how deeply connected our two countries are.
One of the key themes that has repeatedly come up on my travels is the loss of trust between Canada and the United States over the past five years. I am asked by Canadians all the time what has happened to the relationship between the United States and Canada. To be sure, following President Biden’s election, and especially following his visit to Canada, this trust is coming back. And it is something that I try to emphasize all the time – the United States simply has no better friend, ally, or partner than Canada. We are back on the world stage – and we will always have each other’s backs.
What should more American business leaders know about Canada and the relationship that our countries share together? And conversely, what should Canadian executives know more about the U.S.?
Canada is the number one export market for 30 U.S. states, and our markets share many similarities: a common business language, similar business practices, strong legal frameworks, and similar cultures. There are so many similarities between doing business in Canada and the United States, but business leaders on both sides of the border should recognize that each country is unique and that you need to be aware of cultural sensitivities and rules and regulations that may differ in the country you intend to do business.
The recent visit to Canada by POTUS and FLOTUS really seemed to underscore the depth of affection and partnership our countries share with one another. Was there a moment that stood out for you during their visit that underscores the closeness of our nations?
For me, the biggest success of President Biden and Dr. Biden’s visit to Ottawa was the message that the President was able to deliver to Canadians in-person – and that message was that the relationship between Canada and the United States is long-standing, it’s durable, and it’s going to continue to grow.
As President Biden said in his address to Parliament, Canada and the United States have each other’s backs. On multiple occasions during his visit, President Biden highlighted that, as the closest of friends and allies, the United States and Canada are committed to making life better for people in both our countries, and building a more free, equitable, secure, and prosperous world. That’s a pretty good credo for any two countries in the world to subscribe to. I know our team here on the ground felt energized after the President’s visit, and I think Canadians felt energized, too. There’s nothing like having someone who is as authentic and genuine a communicator as Joe Biden speaking those words here in Canada.
What are some of the opportunities and challenges for our nations in promoting more diversity, equity, and inclusion in cross-border trade and investment?
Let me start with the opportunities. Diversity, equity, and inclusion is not just good for our societies. Inclusive business IS good business. We have incredible, diverse talent on both sides of our shared border that offer a tremendous, untapped resource to grow our North American prosperity. Small and medium-sized enterprises are the backbones of the U.S. and Canadian economies, accounting for 99.8 percent of all Canadian businesses as of December 2020. And 9.3 percent of those businesses are owned by visible minorities.
I’ve had conversations across this country with diverse executives, entrepreneurs, business leaders, and small business owners, and I’ve repeatedly heard people describe systemic barriers to accessing capital. This presents an opportunity for us to develop solutions to ensure women, people of color, Indigenous peoples, and other underrepresented groups can be a part of the immense economic partnership between our two countries and allows us to continue to promote diverse and inclusive economic growth and inclusion in cross-border trade and investment.
We can do this by encouraging financial institutions to meet the credit needs of communities in which they do business and by being strategic in how we use environment, social, and governance (ESG) standards—especially in the world of venture capital—to unlock the business potential of underrepresented entrepreneurs and leaders.
Do you have a closing thought or message you would like to share with our readers about our Canada-U.S. relations?
I can think of no better way to leave you than with President Biden’s message to the Canadian Parliament. “The United States chooses to link our future with Canada because we know that we’ll find no better partner... no more reliable ally, no more steady friend.”
Thank you very much Ambassador Cohen for sharing your insights with us.