Case to Remember

Few things are guaranteed to discomfit Canadians more than thoughts of Canada's continuing trade imbalance with the U.S. Last year Canada bought $4 billion worth of goods across the border, managed to sell only $2.9 billion in return. Last week Canadians were reminded that many another nation feels as they do--only about trade with Canada itself.

The case in point was Ireland, whose tidy markets Ottawa's Foreign Trade Service hopes to improve with a booklet for businessmen pointing out Ireland's liberal tariff and import policies for Canadian products--aluminum, wheat, lumber, newsprint, hides. The main problem is that Canada fails to reciprocate. Wrote the Toronto Telegram's Financial Editor Devon Smith: ''Ireland is another of those countries which Canada treats in as offhand a manner as Canadians claim the Americans treat ourselves."

Canada sells Ireland about $10 million worth of goods annually. Ireland, in turn, sold Canada only $415,000 worth of chocolate, wool, textiles and glassware in 1956; last year Irish trade worked up to $1,200,000. but the imbalance was still at a ratio of about 8 to 1. And Ireland is only one of many. Of the 125 entities with which Canada trades, no fewer than 86 have an unfavorable Canadian trade balance. Among the more spectacular: Bermuda (purchases: $3,000,000. sales: $248,000), Union of South Africa (purchases: $48.4 million, sales: $6,800,000). The Netherlands (purchases: $70 million, sales: $25 million).

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