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Vision to Action Conference

The fourth such conference hosted by the United States Department of Commerce was held in the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto, October 30 - 31, 2014 with the purpose of increasing our continental competitiveness (against Asia and Europe I imagine).

The main speakers were Penny Pritzker, U,S, Secretary of Commerce, Ildefonso Guajardo, Mexican Secretary of Economy and Ed Fast, Canadian Minister of International Trade. Other speakers were Gary Doer, Ambassador of Canada to the US, Jordy Hernan Herrera Flores,
Penny Pritzker - foto: Adu Raudkivi (2014)

Former Managing Director Pemex Gas y Petroquimica and Secretary of Energy, Government of Mexico, Jan Kalicki, Public Policy Scholar and Energy Head, Woodrow Wilson Center, The Honourable John Manley, former minister, Liberal, Jeffrey Simpson, National Affairs Columnist, the Globe and Mail, Gordon Brown, Member of Parliament, (Conservative), Bruce A. Heyman, USA Ambassador to Canada, Francisco Suarez, Mexican Ambassador to Canada and many other business representatives.

The previous conference was held last year in San Diego, California, USA, at the end of October.
The U.S. Canada trade relationship is the largest, most dynamic in the world. The U.S. and Canada share the world's largest border and nearly 400,000 persons cross the shared border each day. More than two thirds of Canadian exports are destined for USA. Canada, the U.S. and Mexico form the world's most competitive regional economic platform. In 2013 U.S. trade with Canada and Mexico exceeded $1.3 trillion. North America represents 27% of global GDP and 7% of the world's population. Since NAFTA's inception, the GDP of North America has doubled.

This conference didn't garner much media attention despite the heavy-duty list of speakers but some of the points of reference were extensive.

Adu Raudkivi

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