Contact:    Maine International Trade Center
                   511 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101
                   Media Liaison Catherine Macri  (207) 541-7455  macri@mitc.com
                   MITC President Richard Coyle (207) 541-7408 coyle@mitc.com

 DATE:     January 27, 2003

Headline: Trade Center, UMaine highlight NAFTA opportunities/Challenges

Body: “Canadian-American Free Trade: Opportunities and Challenges”
The Maine International Trade Center and the Canadian-American Center at the University of Maine will present, “Canadian-American Free Trade: Opportunities and Challenges” on Wednesday, February 5, 2003 at the G. Clifton Eames Learning Center in Bangor.  This second workshop in the Eaton, Peabody Global Commerce Series will take an in-depth, multidisciplinary look at the forces shaping free trade across the US-Canadian border.

Maine trades approximately $3.3 billion of goods with Canada each year.   New Brunswick and Quebec alone would rank second and third, respectively, among Maine’s international trading partners. 

Free trade has had a major impact on the lives of people and businesses on both sides of the border.  In 1993, total two-way trade between Maine and Canada was about US$1.4 billion, with Maine exporting US$368 million.  Since the inception of NAFTA, trade between Maine and Canada has more than doubled, led by large increases in energy and forest products.  Canadians are also the largest foreign investors in the state. 

Last year, MITC and the Canadian-American Center co-produced a training workshop for the business community called “Canada: The Market Next Door,” that examined the development of Canada from a variety of disciplines.  This year, the program will focus specifically on the issue of “free trade.” 

 The agenda is as follows: 

• "A Brief History of Canadian-American Free Trade,” by UM Professor of History Scott See. 
• “Free Trade as a Political Issue in Canada.” UM Associate Professor of Political Science and       
    Canadian Studies Howard Cody
• “Why do governments sign free Trade Agreements?” by UM Assistant Professor of Economics  
     Georges Tanguay. 
• LUNCH with a panel discussion on the softwood lumber issue
  “Free trade’s Future in an Insecure World,” by UM Business School Assistant Professor of 
    Management Marie-Christine Therrien. 

MITC thanks the University of Maine’s Canadian-American Center for their contribution to this program series, to Bangor Savings Bank for their ongoing support of the Trade Center’s Canada Desk activities, and to Eaton Peabody for sponsoring this seminar.

The cost of the program is $50 for MITC members and $90 for non-members and free to all Maine State Legislators.  Based on last year’s attendance, we are expecting a large audience.  Early registration is highly recommended.  For more information or to register, contact Catherine Macri at the Maine International Trade Center office in Portland, (207) 541- 7400 or info@mitc.com.

The Maine International Trade Center is a public / private partnership providing international trade development assistance to Maine businesses that are active, or seeking to become active internationally.  The Trade Center is a member-based organization with offices in Portland, Lewiston and Bangor.