In the early 1960’s the Canadian automotive industry faced a growing crisis of a seemingly uncontrollable decline in the production and sales of American brand vehicles, which was a major industry in Southern Ontario. Several domestic and international factors had contributed to this economic crisis and the task of stabilizing it fell upon the shoulders of the federal government. Official inquiries were established and several economic policies were put into place to help remedy the situation, but it was not until the monumental passing of the Automotive Products Trade Agreement of 1965(APTA), signed by Prime Minster Lester B. Pearson and President Lyndon B. Johnson, that significant reorganization of the entire North American auto sector could take place. Commonly known as the Auto Pact, this treaty essentially allowed for the free trade of automotive products across the Canada-US border, given that certain industry requirements had been met. Through analyzing the history and the weaknesses of the Canadian automotive industry in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, this essay will affirm that the Auto Pact was a necessary restructuring of the North American car industry that inherently benefited Canada’s continental automotive trade with the United States. The Auto Pact of 1965 was a free trade agreement that allowed for the movement of both automotive parts and finished vehicles across the border, tariff-free, under the condition that automobile production levels would not fall below 1964 levels, essentially preserving the Canadian auto industry. Prior to the agreement, the automotive manufacturing sector was in a state of uncertainty; plagued with decreasing exports and a flood of imports, both overseas and south of the border, ... ... middle of paper ... ...ada-U.S. Auto Pact of 1965: An Experiment in Selective Trade Liberalization.” Rev. ed. Paper presented at the Conference on Trade and Industrial Organization, Merida, Mexico, December 16-18, 1985. Hazledine, Tim, Ian Wigington. “Canadian Auto Policy.” Canadian Public Policy / Analyse de Politiques 13 (1987): 490-501. Reed, Beverly. Canada's car industry before the Auto Pact. Toronto: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 1978. Online radio clip. Pearson, Lester B. A continental auto industry. Texas: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 1965. Online radio clip. Thomas, Kenneth P. “Capital Mobility and Trade Policy: The Case of the Canada-US Auto Pact.” Review of International Political Economy 4 (1997): 127-153. White, Richard. Making Cars in Canada: A Brief History of the Canadian Automobile Industry 1900-1980. Ottawa: Canada Science and Technology Museum, 2007.
Flink’s Three stages of American automobile consciousness fully express the progress of the whole automobile industry. From the first model T to the automatic production, it gives me an intuitive feeling of the automobile history from a big picture. On the other hand, Kline and Pinch focus more on a certain group of people--farmers or people who live in the rural area, they use it as an entry point to talk about automobile, alone with the role and duty transition between male and
Richard White. (n.d.). Making Cars In Canada: A Brief History of the Canadian Automobile Industry: 1900-1980. Retrieved from
The automaker Chevrolet has experienced much technological change in the past 104 years. Although it, Chevrolet, is a French name, it is an American car company. It was primarily founded by William C, Durant, along with Louis Chevrolet, on November 3, 1911. It wasn’t until six years of existence that it became part of the Automotive Division at General Motors, otherwise known as GM. Durant had previously tried to buy out Ford and failed. This caused him to resort to co-founding Chevrolet. The first car sold by the company commonly called Chevy was the Classic Six, at the price of 2,500 dollars. Chevy started producing these vehicles in 1912-1913. The car’s value may seem like pocket change but that is the common day equivalent of roughly 57,000
... the American economy for trade rather than their own country. The shift to a national highway in Canada supported trade and the economy in giving motorists the ability to travel through Canada without having to leave like which had to be done in previous years.
Canada’s automotive industry was officially declared in 1914. At this point in time, Canada did not have its own car companies. Instead Canada assembled and sold cars for the US who had established their own automotive industry just a few years before Canada. By the 1920s, the automotive industry in Canada had really hit its stride and was well on its way to success. It had grown so rapidly that Canada became the second largest producer of vehicles in the world. This success came about because Canadians were buying tens of thousands of cars. Canada wasn’t just making them for Canadian citizens, but for the world. At times, nearly fifty percent of Canada’s vehicle output was exported.
The United States is Canada's largest trading partner and is the largest market for Canadian goods. The Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (1989) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (1994) have both been crucial to increasing market opportunities for Canadian exporters in the U.S.
Newman, Garfield et al. Canada A Nation Unfolding. Toronto: Mc Graw – Hill Ryerson Limited, 2000.
Canada and the United States are the largest trade partners in the world. It is the result of the geographical position of two countries and the free trade between two countries. It should be a great thing for the economies of both countries, but since the North American Free Trade Agreement was signed, American businesses almost took over the Canadian economy. When the American companies started to make more business in Canada, it brought more jobs and money to the country in the short-term. But as a long-term effect Canadians became even more depended on the U.S. as the American companies started dominating Canadian companies in Canada. Also, today Canadian manufacturers have little protection from the government when ch...
Mckinney, Joseph. "US-Canadian Economic Relations, Twenty Years after the USA-Canada Free Trade Agreement." British Journal of Canadian Studies 23 (2010): 233-246.
San Diego: Lucent, 2004. Print. Jones, Nate. " Q&A: Chevy Chase on. "
...M. "INTERNATIONAL CAPITAL MOBILITY IN HISTORY: PURCHASING-POWER PARITY ~ THE LONG RUN." National Bureau of Economic Research. Sept. 1996. Web. 15 Apr. 2014. .
Ford’s production plants rely on very high-tech computers and automated assembly. It takes a significant financial investment and time to reconfigure a production plant after a vehicle model is setup for assembly. Ford has made this mistake in the past and surprisingly hasn’t learned the valuable lesson as evidence from the hybrid revolution their missing out on today. Between 1927 and 1928, Ford set in motion their “1928 Plan” of establishing worldwide operations. Unfortunately, the strategic plan didn’t account for economic factors in Europe driving the demand for smaller vehicles. Henry Ford established plants in Europe for the larger North American model A. Their market share in 1929 was 5.7% in England and 7.2% in France (Dassbach, 1988). Economic changes can wreak havoc on a corporation’s bottom line and profitability as well as their brand.
After the failed International Trade Organization, Rodrik discusses the Bretton Woods Agreement, the transition from the General Agreement on Tariffs and T...
This paper takes a look at the ways in which the ideas of Fordism and Taylorism helped the success of the U.S motor vehicle industry. The motor vehicle industry has changed the fundamental ideas on the process of manufacturing and probably more expressively on how humans work together to create value.
Spatz, J., & Nennenkamp, P. (2002, January). Globalization of the automotive industry-traditional locations under pressure. Retrieved January 14, 2012, from http://www.uni-kiel.de/ifw/pub/kap/2002/kap1093.pdf