Québec in North America : The Québec-New York Corridor

Abstract

Trade corridors emerged as an answer to the increase of trading flows between the NAFTA partners, and to ensure the position of region states within the North American market. This paper first discusses issues of border infrastructure and security restrictions. Second, it shows that trade corridor initiatives represent social, business and political interests on different levels and sectors. This makes planning and coordination difficult and calls for greater efforts to establish a common agenda. The last part of the paper focuses on transborder clusters, which are regarded by the governments of Québec and New York as engines of regional development. This paper shows that the Québec and New York economies are intimately linked and their prosperity depends on a more integrated transportation infrastructure for the production and movement of goods and services. To remain competitive, Québec and New York are exchanging and cooperating in key sectors. Communities from both sides of the borders collaborate on areas of shared interests and strive to solve common problems. Many challenges lie ahead, however, as many competing interests contribute to shape the future of North American Integration.