The Canada-US Free Trade Agreement and labour market adjustment in Canada

Evidence suggests that the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (CUSTA) had almost no effect on earnings and had a small negative effect on manufacturing employment. Theory suggests that a change in trade policy may affect skilled and less-skilled workers differently. The labour market consequences of CUSTA tariff reductions are analysed in this paper. It is found that the tariff reductions lowered employment predominantly among less-skilled workers but did not affect the earnings of either skilled or less-skilled workers. The employment effects are due to the fact that relatively less-skill-intensive industries were more highly protected than high-skill-intensive industries prior to CUSTA.