Released January 14, 2025 | SUGAR LAND
en
Written by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Cross-border energy trade between the United States and Canada is an important part of the North American economic landscape, Alberta's premier said after meeting the U.S. president-elect.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith was part of a delegation that traveled to Florida during the weekend to meet with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
"We had a friendly and constructive conversation during which I emphasized the mutual importance of the U.S.-Canada energy relationship, and specifically how hundreds of thousands of American jobs are supported by energy exports from Alberta," she said in a statement on Sunday.
Smith's visit came about a week before Trump takes the oath for his second, non-consecutive term as president. In 2018, Trump helped broker the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, a trade deal that replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement. At the time, Trump said that USMCA was "the most modern, up-to-date, and balanced trade agreement" ever sanctioned.
On the campaign trail in 2024, however, Trump said he'd instead impose a 20% tariff on all imported goods from Canada and Mexico, including energy, in an effort to curb cross-border immigration and the flow of illicit drugs.
With global economies just coming off a period of high inflation that followed the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, those tariffs would be passed down to the consumer by way of higher prices. Energy prices are already spiking amid weather issues and newly-imposed U.S. sanctions on Russia.
West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark for the price of oil, is up 7.5% so far in January, which includes the end-of-year holiday lull. As the United States is among Canada's top trading partners, Smith said in a late December interview with Canadian broadcaster CBC that energy could be a bargaining chip with the new U.S. administration.
"We can use oil and gas as a point of leverage to say, because of this strong relationship, all Canadian goods should be tariff-free," she said.
Tariffs are a source of inner-contention for Canada's ruling Labor Party. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland resigned at the end of December after a row over tariffs led her to express concern about "economic nationalism" from a U.S. president who said Canada should be part of the United States.
Trudeau tendered his resignation last week, but will stay in office during a search for the next prime minister.
Canada is by far the top crude oil exporter to the United States, feeding refineries geared to process the heavier type of oil found in the territory of its northern neighbor. Canada delivered 4.4 million barrels of oil per day (BBL/d) to the United States during the seven-day period ending Jan. 3. A distant second, Mexico delivered 392,000 BBL/d during the same week.
Statistics Canada, the government's record-keeping agency, finds the United States was the country's largest trading partner in 2022, the last full year for which data were published.
Energy products made up 33% of the trade, or about $420 billion.
Trump has promised to deliver on a number of his pledges during his first day in office, vowing to sign some 100 executive orders that deal with anything from energy to immigration. He'll be sworn in for another four-year term on Monday.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith was part of a delegation that traveled to Florida during the weekend to meet with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
"We had a friendly and constructive conversation during which I emphasized the mutual importance of the U.S.-Canada energy relationship, and specifically how hundreds of thousands of American jobs are supported by energy exports from Alberta," she said in a statement on Sunday.
Smith's visit came about a week before Trump takes the oath for his second, non-consecutive term as president. In 2018, Trump helped broker the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, a trade deal that replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement. At the time, Trump said that USMCA was "the most modern, up-to-date, and balanced trade agreement" ever sanctioned.
On the campaign trail in 2024, however, Trump said he'd instead impose a 20% tariff on all imported goods from Canada and Mexico, including energy, in an effort to curb cross-border immigration and the flow of illicit drugs.
With global economies just coming off a period of high inflation that followed the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, those tariffs would be passed down to the consumer by way of higher prices. Energy prices are already spiking amid weather issues and newly-imposed U.S. sanctions on Russia.
West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark for the price of oil, is up 7.5% so far in January, which includes the end-of-year holiday lull. As the United States is among Canada's top trading partners, Smith said in a late December interview with Canadian broadcaster CBC that energy could be a bargaining chip with the new U.S. administration.
"We can use oil and gas as a point of leverage to say, because of this strong relationship, all Canadian goods should be tariff-free," she said.
Tariffs are a source of inner-contention for Canada's ruling Labor Party. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland resigned at the end of December after a row over tariffs led her to express concern about "economic nationalism" from a U.S. president who said Canada should be part of the United States.
Trudeau tendered his resignation last week, but will stay in office during a search for the next prime minister.
Canada is by far the top crude oil exporter to the United States, feeding refineries geared to process the heavier type of oil found in the territory of its northern neighbor. Canada delivered 4.4 million barrels of oil per day (BBL/d) to the United States during the seven-day period ending Jan. 3. A distant second, Mexico delivered 392,000 BBL/d during the same week.
Statistics Canada, the government's record-keeping agency, finds the United States was the country's largest trading partner in 2022, the last full year for which data were published.
Energy products made up 33% of the trade, or about $420 billion.
Trump has promised to deliver on a number of his pledges during his first day in office, vowing to sign some 100 executive orders that deal with anything from energy to immigration. He'll be sworn in for another four-year term on Monday.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
