That's a very good question. We have an eight-point plan that outlines our overall priorities for manufacturing competitiveness in Canada.
In terms of the situation you outlined, I think manufacturers have gone through a perfect storm. They've seen the dollar appreciate rapidly over the last 10 years and continue to be very strong over the last few years. Because of the strength of our economy our currency has been strongly valued, not just against the U.S. dollar but against most other major currencies, so that's an issue for any company that is exporting and pricing its sales in U.S. currency, as is the case for most of our members.
We also have seen greater competition from other parts of the world. Over a three-month period in 2008 we lost 30% of our main market in the United States. So we've gone through a lot of changes. I think what we're expecting from the government is some targeted incentives to support manufacturers investing in new technologies, innovation, and skills. We've got several recommendations in terms of how we can negotiate trade agreements that work for Canadian industries.
So yes, our members have been facing some pretty big challenges, but we're looking forward and seeing how we can compete more effectively, both domestically and globally in the future, and I think our members are used to competing against companies from all over the world, right here in Canada. We have a fairly open market, by and large.
Now the issue is how we can grow some of that market share in other countries around the world, and that's where FTAs play a very important role.