Business and government leaders in the United States can learn from their northern neighbor how to see beyond their traditional trading partners to reach a new wave of consumers in developing countries, a top United Parcel Service Inc. executive said June 21.
Emerging markets have consistently outpaced growth in industrialized countries in recent years, putting the onus on the developed world to reach the rising middle class in Latin America and Asia for future trade, UPS Chief Operating Officer David Abney told the Economic Club of Canada in Toronto.
“The growing ranks of the middle class in up-and-coming parts of the world mean that the old rules of the global economy no longer apply,” Mr. Abney said in a news release. “If you want to grow your business in the future, you’ll need to reach out and attract these new customers.”
Mr. Abney noted that leaders in Canada have adapted well to the changes in the global economy, saying Canada is “getting it right.”
The UPS executive praised Canada’s government for negotiating six free trade agreements in the last five years but said there is still much room for streamlined border policies with the United States.
In particular, the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations between the U.S. and nine other countries offer an opportunity for America to modernize its trade rules, Mr. Abney said.
He called for the United States to include Canada and Mexico into the TPP discussions, calling the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement outdated.
“Nafta was based on old trade paradigms that no longer reflect the realities of trade today,” he said. “Including Mexico and Canada in the TPP is the right way to ensure that we have a modern trade agreement in place governing the flow of goods and services across our borders.”