Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Hello, everybody. Good afternoon.
I'd just like to say that in my time in Washington, I've seen first-hand the strength of the Canada-U.S. relationship in general and our economic relationship in particular.
About $2.7 billion worth of goods and services cross our shared border every day. Roughly three-quarters of Canada's exports go to the United States. Moreover, Canada is the number one customer for more than 30 American states. In fact, the United States sells more goods to Canada than it sells to China, Japan and the United Kingdom combined.
But we don't just sell to each other. We make things together, from auto parts and components that cross the border multiple time in the production of a final vehicle, to the animals that are born on one side of the border, raised on the other and travel back again for slaughter or food processing.
Also, of course, COVID has brought to light another very important example. Canada is a top supplier to the U.S. of critical PPE and PPE inputs, including for masks, gowns and ventilators, and Canada is a main market for U.S. exports of PPE and PPE inputs, including cleaning compounds and soaps, needles and syringes.
Simply put, as President Biden said last Tuesday, the U.S. has no better friend than Canada, and there's no country in the world that wants the U.S. to succeed more than Canada does. Our prosperity and also our security are fundamentally linked in an enduring way.
The breadth, depth and significance of the relationship was clear when the Prime Minister and the President met last week—virtually. It was the President's first bilateral meeting with a foreign counterpart since taking office. The leaders released a road map that outlines dozens of concrete commitments for Canada and U.S. collaboration in the coming years.
Of course, for both our countries, the top priority is to end the COVID-19 pandemic. The leaders agreed to strengthen collaboration in that regard, and they agreed to take a coordinated approach, based on science and public health, when considering when to begin easing border restrictions.
They discussed their shared vision for an economic recovery that creates good-paying and secure jobs in both countries and ensures that the benefits of economic growth are shared more widely. The pandemic has not affected everyone equally, and that's true on both sides of the border, so they also announced a joint initiative to help small and medium-sized enterprises recover, with a focus on supporting women-owned and minority/indigenous-owned businesses.
The President and the Prime Minister spoke of the importance of our deeply interconnected and mutually beneficial economic relationship. The reality is that economic recovery in Canada and in the U.S. will be faster, stronger and more enduring if we move forward together. That's why the President and the Prime Minister launched a new strategy to strengthen Canada-U.S. supply chains, and that's why they recognized the important benefits of the bilateral energy relationship and its infrastructure.
In terms of climate change, there are opportunities to work together internationally, but also at home, where we can align policies and approaches to create jobs, while tackling carbon emissions. To that end, the leaders agreed to create the necessary supply chains to make Canada and the United States global leaders in battery development and production.
Given the focus of this committee, I'm highlighting the economic elements of the road map, but the leaders also made very concrete plans to extend co-operation on continental defence, cybersecurity, cross-border crime and the Arctic. They discussed ways to align our approaches on China, including how we deal with China's coercive and unfair economic practices, national security challenges and human rights abuses. They discussed the arbitrary detention of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, and the President committed to work for their release.
Canada's relationship with the U.S. is strong. It's interdependent, and it's multi-faceted. It's precisely because of this interdependence that decisions on one side of the border are often very impactful on the other, so while we work together on these many shared goals, Canada must also be vigilant in advancing our priorities and standing up for our interests clearly and strongly.
We learned from our experience in negotiating the new NAFTA that a team Canada approach is constructive and effective. Working towards the same goals and consistently presenting compelling facts to our U.S. counterparts in the administration, Congress and all levels of government has proven to be successful.
I'd like to conclude by saying that this is a very exciting time in the Canada-U.S. relationship. There are many opportunities for Canada in the years ahead in working with the Biden administration, and I think we're very well placed to seize them.
Thank you. I'll be happy to answer your questions.