It's a good question. I'd start by saying that companies can only export what they can produce. It's hard to export things that they're not able to produce.
One of the problems we have in Canada is that we're actually pretty much at capacity in all sectors across manufacturing. When we're talking about 75% of exports actually being manufactured and produced goods and we're at capacity in manufacturing, signing new trade agreements doesn't actually lead to increased exports, because the companies themselves can't produce more to get out. They might be able to invest and do other things, but they're unable, really, to grow their production to export it much more than they already are. In order to get them to export in the first place, you need them to increase their investment.
There are a number of things that we've certainly been talking about with all governments for a while, but we certainly need to see things such as looking at corporate tax rates. The U.S. just passed a massive corporate tax reform bill and has had major investments in a wide variety of sectors in the U.S., which will boost their production capacities. There are things such as the accelerated cost of capital allowances, which this government has extended, and we'd like to see it brought on speed with the U.S. government, which would be a one-year writeoff.
That capital investment is critical to boost the output but also the productivity. If these companies can't compete against the foreign companies that are competing with them because they're less productive, say, than a foreign multinational or a foreign exporter, they're not going to have the same opportunities, both at home or abroad. That competitiveness piece plays on their ability to grow investment here to boost their capacities to be able to export abroad, but also on how they're dealing with imports from offshore. If they're not producing at competitive world prices—and this is the same with the TPP or CETA or any other deal—they are going to be beat by someone else when they're under a free trade agreement. That's why that domestic competitiveness is so easy....
Investment is critical. The regulatory environment is really critical. Helping companies train and skill their workers for new technologies and to be more innovative is really critical. All these things play a role. It's not just one thing. It's a wide variety of policies that need to take place to help companies grow, be able to export, and be globally competitive.