"You know, one statistic I think people need to know is there's roughly, like, $380 billion worth of goods that we ship to our NAFTA partners on an annual basis." That was George W. Bush on Feb. 28, after both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton suggested they'd renegotiate NAFTA if elected. At last, Bush was making sense. The NAFTA-bashing was a clear case of pandering to states like Ohio that blame Canada for massive layoffs. But the truth is, trade with this country supports 7.1 million jobs in the U.S., and 36 states count Canada as their top export market. Even tiny Rhode Island shipped us $470 million (U.S.) worth of stuff in 2006, a figure responsible for 26,000 jobs. Its biggest exports: watches, clocks, jewellery and silverware.
TOP 10 STATES WHOSE LARGEST EXPORT MARKET IS CANADA (TOTAL EXPORTS IN U.S. DOLLARS AND LARGEST EXPORT CATEGORY)
Tennessee
$5.5 billion
Automobiles
Kentucky
$5.4 billion
Trucks
Illinois
$12.1 billion
Automobiles
Wisconsin
$5.4 billion
Auto engines
Indiana
$9.5 billion
Auto parts
Michigan
$22.8 billion
Auto parts
Ohio
$18 billion
Auto parts
North Carolina
$4.4 billion
Auto parts
Pennsylvania
$7.9 billion
Steel
New York
$12.7 billion
Auto engines
More stuff we buy from the U.S.
Nevada
Recreational equipment $131 million
Colorado
Meat $140 millionNebraska
Combine reaper-threshers $82 million
North Dakota
Power shovels $74 million
Florida
Orange juice & concentrates $159 million
45%: Portion of Canadians who think Ottawa should do "whatever is necessary" to reopen the NAFTA agreement
80%: Share of Democratic primary voters in Ohio who feel international trade agreements take more jobs away than they create, according to exit polls on March 4