
Strengthening the U.S.- Canada Commercial Relationship
September 28, 2016Shawn M. Ricks is Senior Policy Advisor for Special Projects & Outreach in the Office of North America, Western Hemisphere at the International Trade Administration
Yesterday, Deputy Director General Judy Reinke was in Toronto, Ontario to address a high-level delegation of 50 representatives from 27 countries, as part of the Sixth Americas Competitiveness Exchange on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ACE VI). Reinke underscored the importance of the U.S.– Canada commercial relationship, outlined ITA’s priorities in the Western Hemisphere, and highlighted the benefits of innovation and regional integration to achieving our shared economic objectives.

Deputy Director General Reinke with the Toronto Commercial Service team.
As part of her trip, she toured the University of Toronto, where she witnessed a demonstration of applications for unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) and robots, as well as participated in several panels on the advancement of big data, artificial intelligence, and robotics, and the impact they have on innovation and the economy. She also toured one of Canada’s largest incubators for emerging tech startups at Ryerson University, the top-ranked university incubator in North America, and third in the world.
During her visit to Toronto, she also met with Commercial Service Principal Commercial Officer (PCO) Eric Crowley, Deputy PCO Shakir Farsakh, and their entire team, where she spoke on the importance of the trip to develop bilateral tech industries, and also commended the team on their efforts to assist U.S. small- and medium-sized companies and to strengthen the U.S. trade and investment with Canada.
Ms. Reinke’s trip comes on the heels of Director General Arun Kumar’s visit in April 2016.
For more information on our Commercial Service team in Toronto, visit us on the web.