why does Canada export so much oil to the US but also still import some oil from us?

Question

Wouldn’t it make most economic sense to just sell to our own countries in that case if there’s some standardized barrel price?

In: 293

Answer 1

Sometimes especially in big countries it makes more sense for one geographic area to import from another country than from elsewhere in its own borders.

This came up when (I think it was) India put a ban on exporting wheat a couple years ago. Economists were explaining that for some regions it might be more expensive to buy and ship wheat from elsewhere in the country rather than importing it from a closer neighbor on a direct route.