s. s. poloz, “ a new balance point : global trade, productivity and economic growth ” ( speech to the investment industry association of canada and the securities industry and financial markets association, new york, new york, 26 april 2016 ). - 14 the third global explanation is the diminishing impact of global value chains. improvements in logistics technologies promoted an increase in production specialization and cross - border trade in intermediate inputs. the declining impact is most clearly seen in china, which has started to move up the value chain and produce intermediate goods domestically rather than import them. 15 in terms of factors more specific to canada that have held back our exports in the wake of the great recession, the most important are related to our ability to produce and export non - commodity goods, which represent about 60 per cent of our exports since the financial crisis. the remainder is split between energy and non - energy commodities. our goods exports were severely affected by the sharp decline in global demand during the great recession. our non - commodity goods exports were harder hit than in any post - war recession, decreasing by about 17 per cent between the third quarter of 2008 and the second quarter of 2009. 16 a big part of that decrease was the shutdown of a substantial portion of canadian auto production. 17 in addition, from the peak in 2008 to the trough in 2010, the number of exporters fell nearly 20 per cent, dropping by almost 9, 000 firms. 18 this shock to non - commodity exports exacerbated an ongoing trend, discussed in the previous section, in which canada was losing us market share, owing to the appreciation of the canadian dollar, relatively weak labour productivity growth and the entry of new exporters. in our surveys, companies have also mentioned deficient infrastructure, regulatory uncertainty and relatively high electricity costs. all of these export competitiveness challenges suggest that our export shortfall may be more persistent than previously believed. while countries, most notably china, mexico and other emes, have seen their exports of non - commodities to the united states increase over the past 15 years, canada ’ s exports have essentially remained unchanged in nominal terms ( chart 14 ). the loss of us market share for our non - commodity goods exports was particularly concentrated in motor vehicles and parts, in which canada had been historically strong. 19 canadian firms have also experienced a reduction in their use of imported intermediated goods. about one - quarter of the subsectors for non - energy goods exports ( about 500 out of 2,

the transition by ensuring adequate safety nets for workers and facilitating retraining and relocation. while mindful of these concerns, our commitment to trade liberalization should remain as firm as it has been in the past. efforts to liberalize trade externally as well as internally must continue in earnest. the signing of the new trade agreement with the european union will support growth going forward, as would the transpacific partnership should it eventually come into force. canada has one of the most diversified, trade - driven economies in the world. the global economy exposes us to shocks, but also to opportunities. historically, canadian exporters have overcome the challenges and seized the opportunities. we should have confidence that ships will continue to sail out of halifax with our goods and commodities and that clients around the world will continue to value our services.