0.050.09975 0

Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Corridor at the Time of CUSMA's Renegotiation.

3rd annual GVCdtLAB conference

CIRANO

Thursday 13 Mar 2025
From 10AM To 5PM

2025 will be marked by profound economic and commercial uncertainties, amplified by the United States' announcement to impose 25% tariffs on Canadian products, thus overturning the discussions surrounding the renegotiation of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). While the possibility of new tariffs was indeed foreseen, their scale sent shockwaves through economic players and experts, fuelling concerns about their repercussions on North American trade relations, and more specifically on the states and provinces of the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence (GLSL) region. This challenge to relations hitherto based on free trade raises considerable uncertainty in terms of economic predictability, continuity of trade relations, reorientation of trade flows, and diversification of partners.

Given the historically close relations between Canada and the United States, which share a border recognized as one of the most secure and collaborative in the world, and considering the hyper-integration of the two nations, which account for C$3.6 billion in trade in goods and services every day, the consequences can be just as damaging on one side as on the other. The players in both countries have every interest in joining forces to meet these challenges together, in a rational and proactive way.

With the abundance of announcements, how can one make the right judgments? What shocks are to be expected, and how should they be assessed? Which industries and investments should be prioritized? What opportunities can the GLSL corridor draw from this situation? Considering these questions, how can data science help us make informed decisions?

To answer this, we invite you to a unique day combining expert panels and collaborative working groups. 

Bringing together decision-makers, researchers, and multidisciplinary experts from the GLSL region, we will explore concrete solutions based on data science, using GVCdtLAB tools to ground our thinking and turn uncertainty into opportunity, identifying pragmatic and sustainable strategies to overcome the challenges ahead.

Join us for this day of work and collaboration to shape the future of transport and trade in the GLSL region in the face of these global upheavals.

Places are limited - This event will be held in English and French.

For more information, please contact Sarah Elimam (Sarah.Elimam@cirano.qc.ca)  

      

 

With the support of National Trade Corridors Fund

Amiel, Magali
Director Expert, Business Strategy, Head of Transport and Logistics Practices Canada, CGI
de Marcellis-Warin, Nathalie
CEO
CIRANO Researcher and Fellow
Full Professor, Polytechnique Montréal
Ph.D., Management Science, École normale supérieure de Cachan
Dea, Christian
Chief Economist and Director General, Transportation and Economic Analysis, Transport Canada
Fenn, Larissa
Vice President, Corporate Affairs, HOPA Ports
Féquière, Madeleine
Consul General of Canada, in Chicago
Gascon, Julie
President and Chief Executive Officer, Port of Montreal
Guikema, Seth
Professor, Université du Michigan
Sadoune, Igor
CIRANO Postdoctoral Researcher
Ph.D. in Mathematics, Polytechnique Montréal
Simard, Jean
President and CEO, Aluminium Association of Canada (AAC)
St-Pierre, Mathieu
President and Chief Executive Officer, Société de développement économique du Saint-Laurent
Tamini, Lota
CIRANO Researcher and Fellow
Full Professor, Université Laval
Ph.D., Economics, Université Laval
Toupin, Dominic
Director, Strategic Business Intelligence and Economic Partners, Ministère des Relations internationales et de la Francophonie
Warin, Thierry
CIRANO Researcher and Fellow
Full Professor, HEC Montréal
Ph.D., Monetary Economics and Finance, ESSEC Business School

Program

8:30 - 9:10
Welcome and Breakfast
9:10 - 9:15
Welcoming Address
9:15 - 9:30
Opening Remarks
Madeleine Féquière
9:30 - 9:45
Opening Remarks
Steve Verheul
9:45 - 10:15
Guest Speaker
10:15 - 10:30
Break
10:30 - 11:45
Panel 1 : How CUSMA Renegotiation Will Affect the 3rd Largest Economy of the World?
Christian Dea, Jean Simard, Lota Tamini, Julie Gascon
11:45 - 12:10
AI for Shock-Resilient Trade Governance in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Corridor
12:10 - 13:15
Lunch
13:15 - 14:30
Panel 2 : Digitization of GLSL Ports at the Heart of the Supply Chain
Mathieu St-Pierre, Seth Guikema, Larissa Fenn, Magali Amiel
14:40 - 15:25
Working Group 1 - Tariff adaptation strategies
14:41 - 14:55
Which economic sectors are anticipated to be most vulnerable to tariffs?
14:55 - 15:10
Response to Tariffs: Which sectors or industries should be prioritized for targeted intervention?
15:10 - 15:25
Trade Diversion: Which alternative markets warrant thorough exploration?
15:25 - 15:40
Working Group 1 Debrief
15:40 - 15:55
Break
15:55 - 16:40
Working Group 2 - Adapting the GLSL corridor's transport infrastructure to trade diversification
15:56 - 16:10
What is the projected impact of tariffs on transportation systems?
16:10 - 16:25
By what methodologies can bottlenecks be identified while ensuring supply chain agility?
16:25 - 16:40
Within this context, are transportation infrastructures adequately equipped to manage a redirection of supply chains?
16:40 - 16:55
Working Group 2 Debrief
16:55 - 17:10
Closing Remarks
Dominic Toupin
17:10 - 19:10
Cocktail

Location


1130 Rue Sherbrooke O #1400, Montréal, QC H3A 2M8, Canada

Registration form

As seats are limited, registration is mandatory.


Please contact evenements@cirano.qc.ca if:

  • You can no longer participate;
  • You wish to inform us of your food restrictions (if applicable).

  Please complete the registration form

Personal information

Billing information

Payment

GST #: R136535903
QST #: 1016130199
Secure Online Payment

By registering, I understand that I may appear in photographs and videos taken during this event and agree that these photos and videos are used in subsequent CIRANO communications.
Read more