Canada's trade winds shift to EU

[alexiworld]

Canada's trade winds shift to EU
By HEATHER SCOFFIELD , Globe and Mail Update
http://ctv2.theglobeandmail.com/servlet ... v-business

For Canadian exporters, the European Union's red hot economic growth is making up handsomely for the laggard U.S. economy.

Canada's reliance on trade with the United States has ebbed to its lowest point in a decade. The slowdown in the U.S. is expected to drag on for months, eating into sales of key Canadian products there, economists say. But at the same time, the EU is poised to lead the developed world in growth this year.

“We're gaining market share in Europe in leaps and bounds,” Peter Hall, deputy chief economist of Export Development Canada, said Tuesday, based on an analysis of Canadian trade with Europe over the past five years.

The average increase in Canadian exports to Europe is 12 per cent annually since 2002, he said, and the average increase in sales to the United Kingdom is 21.4 per cent a year.

And that's despite low growth rates in Europe in the earlier part of the decade, he noted. With growth in Europe looking strong this year, and next, Canada is in a good position, he said. “If this marks a trend in the way Europe does business, then the prospects for us are very good.”

At the same time, Canada's trade with the United States is waning. Since early in the decade, dependence on the U.S. for trade has gradually declined, a review from Statistics Canada shows. The United States bought about 85 per cent of Canada's exports annually in the years before 2002, but the proportion has declined steadily. In 2006, the United States bought 78.9 per cent of Canada's exports – the lowest in a decade.

The European Commission raised its growth forecast for Europe substantially this week, to 2.6 per cent for the 13 countries that use the euro. That's up from a previous forecast of 2.1 per cent, revised after economists figured the strength of last year's 2.7-per-cent pace would persist.

For the broader, 27-member European Union, growth will be about 2.9 per cent this year, the commission projected.

With growth in the United States and Japan expected to amount to just 2.3 per cent this year, Europe is shaping up to be the developed world's economic engine – a turnaround from the days when Europe plodded along slightly behind its key competitors.

Sales of Canadian aerospace, pharmaceutical and telecommunications products have been particularly robust, Mr. Hall noted. But he did not have a definitive answer as to why Canadians were suddenly doing so well on the continent.

European labour has priced itself out of many markets, and European companies are increasingly looking abroad for cheaper inputs and finished products, Mr. Hall said.

Plus, as the European Union expanded to include southern Europe and then Eastern Europe, “old” European countries had to change their outlook and become more savvy about what the world has to offer, he added.

“It's possible that Canada is capitalizing on the more global outlook that European businesses are taking.”

Part of the decline in trade with the U.S. is because of the slowing in the U.S. economy, but it's also because Canadian exporters are setting their sights elsewhere, especially Europe.

In 2006, the United Kingdom replaced Japan as Canada's No. 2 trading partner, with Canadian exports rising 22 per cent last year. Exports to the European Union grew at 13.1 per cent.

However, rising prices of commodities – and not increased volumes of exports – accounted for much of that business in Europe, said Statistics Canada's Diana Wyman.

One of the few gains in export volumes to Europe in 2006 was in the aerospace sector, which has seen its sales there prosper in recent years, she said.

[KolioBalkanski]

However, rising prices of commodities – and not increased volumes of exports – accounted for much of that business in Europe, said Statistics Canada's Diana Wyman.

One of the few gains in export volumes to Europe in 2006 was in the aerospace sector, which has seen its sales there prosper in recent years, she said.

[pop]

директен резултат от поскъпването на CAD спрямо USD и поевтиняването на CAD спрямо EUR и GBP.

Canada's trade winds shift to EU
By HEATHER SCOFFIELD , Globe and Mail Update
http://ctv2.theglobeandmail.com/servlet ... v-business

For Canadian exporters, the European Union's red hot economic growth is making up handsomely for the laggard U.S. economy.

Canada's reliance on trade with the United States has ebbed to its lowest point in a decade. The slowdown in the U.S. is expected to drag on for months, eating into sales of key Canadian products there, economists say. But at the same time, the EU is poised to lead the developed world in growth this year.

“We're gaining market share in Europe in leaps and bounds,” Peter Hall, deputy chief economist of Export Development Canada, said Tuesday, based on an analysis of Canadian trade with Europe over the past five years.

The average increase in Canadian exports to Europe is 12 per cent annually since 2002, he said, and the average increase in sales to the United Kingdom is 21.4 per cent a year.

And that's despite low growth rates in Europe in the earlier part of the decade, he noted. With growth in Europe looking strong this year, and next, Canada is in a good position, he said. “If this marks a trend in the way Europe does business, then the prospects for us are very good.”

At the same time, Canada's trade with the United States is waning. Since early in the decade, dependence on the U.S. for trade has gradually declined, a review from Statistics Canada shows. The United States bought about 85 per cent of Canada's exports annually in the years before 2002, but the proportion has declined steadily. In 2006, the United States bought 78.9 per cent of Canada's exports – the lowest in a decade.

The European Commission raised its growth forecast for Europe substantially this week, to 2.6 per cent for the 13 countries that use the euro. That's up from a previous forecast of 2.1 per cent, revised after economists figured the strength of last year's 2.7-per-cent pace would persist.

For the broader, 27-member European Union, growth will be about 2.9 per cent this year, the commission projected.

With growth in the United States and Japan expected to amount to just 2.3 per cent this year, Europe is shaping up to be the developed world's economic engine – a turnaround from the days when Europe plodded along slightly behind its key competitors.

Sales of Canadian aerospace, pharmaceutical and telecommunications products have been particularly robust, Mr. Hall noted. But he did not have a definitive answer as to why Canadians were suddenly doing so well on the continent.

European labour has priced itself out of many markets, and European companies are increasingly looking abroad for cheaper inputs and finished products, Mr. Hall said.

Plus, as the European Union expanded to include southern Europe and then Eastern Europe, “old” European countries had to change their outlook and become more savvy about what the world has to offer, he added.

“It's possible that Canada is capitalizing on the more global outlook that European businesses are taking.”

Part of the decline in trade with the U.S. is because of the slowing in the U.S. economy, but it's also because Canadian exporters are setting their sights elsewhere, especially Europe.

In 2006, the United Kingdom replaced Japan as Canada's No. 2 trading partner, with Canadian exports rising 22 per cent last year. Exports to the European Union grew at 13.1 per cent.

However, rising prices of commodities – and not increased volumes of exports – accounted for much of that business in Europe, said Statistics Canada's Diana Wyman.

One of the few gains in export volumes to Europe in 2006 was in the aerospace sector, which has seen its sales there prosper in recent years, she said.