[Mr. Jeeves]

Just try exporting to Canada these days and claiming a NAFTA "duty free" status. Canadians have already invented 9,000 reasons that your USA-made product doesn't qualify and they will find some way to slap it with a full 18% duty. If they let it through, they can come back and audit you years later and hit your company with a huge bill for back duties if they suddenly decide your product should not have qualified.

Even shipping commercial products to Canada via UPS and other carriers can be a nightmare for smaller businesses - but I have no doubt the big players get all the NAFTA benefits with no problem, as the treaty's authors intended. I know of several decent-sized firms in our industry who have simply stopped trying to sell to Canada because they can't find any way to make money doing so.

Meanwhile, we seem to let Canadian firms export whatever they want to the USA. In my experience, Canada is just as big a part of NAFTA's unfairness as Mexico. They have both rigged the system so they get all the benefits and the USA (outside of politically connected major players) gets none.

[Alberta's Child]

The U.S. lost all credibility with Canada as a trading partner when they imposed those idiotic softwood lumber tariffs in the early 2000s. I can understand why someone looking to export to Canada wouldn't be happy with their own situation, but throwing stones at Canada for their trade practices isn't going to fly with people like me who have seen this from both sides of the border.

Personally, I would think it would be extremely difficult for U.S. firms to sell almost anything north of the border for several reasons, including a small customer base up there, a weak Canadian currency, and low disposable income among most potential customers up there.