CABC report calls for Canada and USA to keep border open to cement trade

The Canadian American Business Council's (CABC) latest report on Canada/US cross-border trade calls for governments in north America to open border trade to cement and other building materials during the COVID-19 crisis to keep some liquidity in the economy.

"If we don't keep this backbone of the economy going, we are going to extend the time the recovery will take, policy-makers are getting that," said Steve Morrissey, executive vice-president of the Cement Association of Canada, a member association of CABC. "I hope the trade unions and others who are trying to sensationalise the conditions out there don't override the fundamentals that we need to keep in place. Because if we don't have construction out there, what else is going to be sustaining any actual liquidity in the economy?"

Policymakers on both sides of the Canada-USA border have been intent on keeping open commercial trade, although the leisure sector has been restricted during the pandemic. Domestic production of cement in Canada reached 14.5Mt in 2019 and consumption was at 9Mt, said Mr Morrissey. Exports to the USA accounted for almost 5Mt of cement.

"In some [Canadian] states they can't manufacture cement anymore,  but they have active projects going on, and with the depreciation of the Canadian dollar, our product is even more advantageous," he said. "So, because of the confluence of events, our exporting is actually positive right now."