I believe an important area to our prosperity and global competitiveness as a country is free trade agreements. I think we've made great progress in Canada in trying to open Canada to the rest of the world, and to enhance that with free trade agreements with Europe and South Korea, and with the TPP. I think that having bigger markets to buy from and sell to create more opportunities, and more opportunities mean more chances to grow our business.
Approximately 90% of what we make in Canada ships to the U.S. Without free trade, our story would be different. Free trade agreements have been critical in the decision-making of auto makers on where they put plants. For instance, BMW and Audi have put vehicle plants in Mexico in the last few years, with 100% tied to their access to global markets.
I think signing on to TPP is absolutely critical for a couple of reasons. To be left out of an agreement that covers 40% of the world's economy would be nothing short of a disaster, particularly if the U.S. is signing on and key competitors to all areas of our business are in this agreement, and we're not.
It's not just on the automotive side—although that would absolutely be the case in this sector—but also in terms of Skyjack. Our two key competitors are U.S. companies. If the U.S. signs on and we don't, that's a disaster for our Skyjack business. Even if the U.S. doesn't sign on, we should still sign on because it would give us an advantage over the rest of the world. I think that's key.
There's a lot of talk about Canadian content and local content, but to be clear, Canadian content requirements in NAFTA are zero. Canadian content requirements in TPP are zero. We've won billions of dollars of work for our Canadian plants, not because of protectionist trade policies, but because we're competitive, innovative, and efficient. That's what wins business, not trade policies that try to protect.
Thank you.