Of course, trade is important, and trade agreements are important, but the fact of the matter is that due to the WTO, average tariff rates around the world have fallen now to very, very low levels. Trade agreements are really working on the margins now, and in some areas you see some residual protectionism.
What's extremely important, particularly to globalized companies, is the competitiveness of the market that they're going to invest in. We've been hearing consistently, since both the government's private corporations tax proposals and now U.S. reform, that the Canadian environment for new investment is not nearly as attractive as it was a year ago.
We're extremely concerned that you're going to start seeing more and more investment going to the U.S., particularly when you combine tax reform with NAFTA uncertainty. If you're thinking about putting a new plant, for example, in southwestern Ontario, and you intend to export the majority of your production to the U.S., you're going to think twice about making that investment right now when potentially there could be a tariff fall, and you know the U.S. tax environment is far more competitive. It's not just on the corporate side; it's also on the personal side, where of course, the U.S. is a much more attractive place now.
That is a huge concern for us. It's something we're spending a lot of time on, and I don't think you could separate it from the trade file. It all has to be viewed together.