With President Trump’s repeated vows to punish Canada with auto tariffs, you might think that the border was a southbound one-way street, running wholly against the U.S. auto industry.
On a recent campaign trip, Trump said Canada was “ripping us off” and threatened a tariff on cars from Canada that “would be the ruination of the country.” It would be a massive escalation of the trade hostilities that began this year with U.S. tariffs on washers, solar cells, aluminum and steel.
But the auto trade with Canada doesn’t look one-sided, if you take into account where the parts to make the cars came from.
Yes, car imports from Canada far exceed cars shipped the other way. But those cars assembled in Canada are often made up of engines, bodies and parts imported from the United States. Add up the trade in all automotive goods with Canada, and it comes out about even. The United States exports 99 cents’ worth of automotive goods to Canada for every dollar of imports.
Overall, Canada could even be called the United States’ best major trade partner. It’s the largest export market for U.S. goods, and the $4 trillion trade is by far the most balanced. The United States exports 94 cents’ worth of goods to Canada for each dollar of imports. In trade with the rest of the world, it’s only 62 cents.
Within that trade, there are many differences across U.S. imports and exports, and the flow of goods often differs depending on direction. Here’s a breakdown:
