Harper debates ‘biggest’ trade deal with Mulroney watching
Prime Minister Stephen Harper compares Canada-EU trade agreement with Mulroney’s NAFTA deal
29 October
Government ministers fan out across Canada to promote EU trade deal
On Tuesday (October 29), in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Harper tabled a 26 page technical summary of the agreement.
(RCI) With the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), Canada will have access to more than 500 million consumers, and most trade tariffs will be dropped.
But critics worry about the impact on a wide variety of Canadian industries and such activities as Canadian dairy farming. Others are concerned that the agreement will give French companies Suez and Veolia access to run water services for profit in Canada.
Other critics are concerned by the impact of business dispute clauses that would allow Canadian and European companies to challenge government regulations that impede their businesses.
Since the announcement of the agreement, government ministers have fanned out across Canada to promote the agreement to Canadians.
25 October
Jeffrey Simpson: Free-trade forecasts are always foggy
From a long-term point of view, this deal is geopolitically important because of the risk of being left isolated if (and it’s a big if) the EU and the United States negotiate their own trade deal. If for no other reason, this alone makes the deal worth doing for Canada, as long as everyone understands that the advantages will be both oversold and overcriticized for political reasons.
22 October
L. Ian MacDonald: EU trade deal is a huge win for Harper
until the Americans do a deal with Europe, Canadian businesses will have a competitive advantage over U.S. firms in access to European markets.
Meantime, Canada will be the only G7 country to have privileged access to the world’s two largest markets, the EU and the U.S. That gives Harper bragging rights around the G20 table, as well. …
Harper knew he had the support of all the provinces. Not that Ontario and Quebec weren’t worried about their dairy farmers. Ontario was also concerned about the higher cost of prescription drugs because of patent protections being extended by two years to fend off generic drugs. Ottawa’s response was simple — don’t worry about it, we’ll look after it. Dairy farmers will be compensated. Provinces will have higher drug costs covered.
This is a very different federal-provincial context than existed for the Canada-U.S. FTA, which was strenuously opposed by then Ontario premier David Peterson. For the Canada-EU Round, the provinces have been at the table all along. Indeed, the initiative began with the provinces when Jean Charest proposed it to the Council of the Federation, and Harper took it from there.
It’s a huge breakthrough that government procurement will be open to EU bids at all levels of government — federal, provincial and municipal. And this in a country where there are still significant barriers to interprovincial trade, known as BITs. In return, the European government-procurement market of $2.7 trillion in products and services will be open to Canadian business. How big is that? It’s 50 per cent larger than Canada’s GDP of $1.8 trillion.
21 October
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CETA is a big win for Harper, but not a political panacea
It could not have come at a better time, from a Tory political perspective. Nevertheless it may not be enough to get the governing party re-elected in two years’ time. The reason is Canada’s newly monochromatic political culture, in which everyone agrees, more or less, about everything that matters.
18 october
CETA: Canada-EU free trade deal lauded by Harper, Barroso
Harper hails agreement as ‘historic win for Canada’
(CBC) Under the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) and NAFTA, Canada will have preferential access to more than half of the world’s economy.
The agreement in principle also provides for working groups to look at non-tariff barriers — regulations on health and sanitation, for example — that interfere with trade.
The sweeping free trade deal with the 28-member European Union — which has a total population of 500 million and generates $17 trillion in annual economic activity — covers everything from cars to food to intellectual property.
Andrew Coyne: With his EU trade deal, Stephen Harper finally has a real consumer charter
If the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the European Union is unlikely to encounter much serious opposition, that is in part a tribute to how well the ground has been prepared, notably in getting the provinces onside. It could all as easily have gone nowhere.
17 October
Danielle Goldfarb: Closing the Canada-EU deal
(OpenCanada) Canadians should take a few steps back from these headline issues to think about the broader global context. Here are three reasons we should care about this deal that don’t typically make the headlines:
1. Canada needs to find other markets than the United States. With a small domestic market, Canada depends on global opportunities to improve our living standards. Historically, we have relied on our commercial relationships with the U.S. to do so. But Canada’s trade with the U.S. has completely flat-lined over the past decade. … The EU market is larger than the U.S., and our trade and investment relationships are significant and growing, according to our forecasts. In fact, we export more products to the EU than to China, India, and Brazil combined.
2. Canadian companies won’t be at a disadvantage. With a Canada-EU deal, this country’s businesses will gain an advantage in the EU market over firms from other countries (like the US) that still face tariff and other trade barriers in the EU – or at least will not be at a disadvantage relatives to companies from countries that have signed a deal with the EU.
3. This helps Canada open doors to markets beyond the EU.
Harper takes on cheese lobby to win free trade with Europe
New Canada-E.U. trade deal to be unveiled Friday
(CBC) NAFTA was never like this. Instead of the anguished, existential debate over free trade with the U.S., the deal with Europe never broke out of the business pages during the long four years of negotiations. Fretting about cheese quotas just didn’t capture the imagination the way that fretting about Canada’s sovereign identity did.
Even so, on his trip earlier this month to Southeast Asia, Prime Minister Stephen Harper described free trade with Europe as “the most important priority” of his government.
BEYOND TRADE: MAKING CANADA MATTER IN ASIA
Jeremy Kinsman
(Policy Options) Canada is embarking on a welcome national trade expansion and diversification project, in part because of a threat of declining rewards in the US market. The project needs to be about more than promoting trade. Its success requires Canada to project abroad a compelling national “brand” that draws from our character and successful record as a modern, internationalist, North American, inclusive democracy. Consistency in supporting human rights defence world-wide is also part of the brand, and should not stand in the way of expanding business ties, including in China. (September 2012)
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Negotiations and Agreements
The Government of Canada is committed to creating the most favourable conditions for Canadian businesses to compete internationally. Free trade agreements (FTAs) and foreign investment promotion and protection agreements (FIPAs) between Canada and our trading partners are creating new opportunities for Canadian businesses. By ensuring greater protection against discriminatory and arbitrary practices, and enhancing the predictability of a market, FTAs and FIPAs provide a competitive advantage in today’s global marketplace.
Japan-Canada – Don’t forget about Japan
Canada needs to see Asia as consisting of more than China, and to recognize that Japan remains a formidable force in the global economy. Deeper engagement with Japan offers the prospect of a partner for the shared journey of coming to grips with this century’s economic and strategic challenges. It is an opportunity Canada should not miss.
(Policy Options July 2013) There is certainly awareness of the potential to expand the Canada-Japan trade and investment relationship. Two rounds of negotiations have already taken place on a comprehensive economic partnership, with a third round scheduled for some time before October. Significant issues under discussion include increased access to Japanese markets for Canadian beef, pork, wheat and forest products, and a lowering of the 6.1 percent auto tariff on the Japanese side, which will require pacifying the Canadian auto industry. The 2007 Report Joint Study on the Possibility of a Canada-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement suggested a comprehensive free trade deal could add between US$3.8 billion and US$9 billion a year to Canada’s GDP. The study projected an increase in Canada’s exports to Japan by two-thirds, a multibillion-dollar injection into the economy.
Yet several issues stand in the way of improving economic ties. One is simply keeping Japan’s attention. Between Japan’s discussions on the hugely ambitious Trans-Pacific Partnership and separate trade talks with China and South Korea, it may see talks with Canada as a sideshow.
22 July
Should you bet on a Canada-EU deal? Setting the odds for the CETA
(OpenCanada.org) Time is running out for Canada to complete a free trade agreement with the European Union.
The most plausible scenario is that a deal will still be made, but several deadlines for completion have already been missed and an alternate scenario could come to pass. Whatever the outcome, it will likely have a domino effect on the rest of Canada’s trade agenda – and, in turn, on the living standards of current and future generations of Canadians.
9 July
Trans-Atlantic Free Trade: light at the end of the tunnel?
By Peter Clark*
Prime Minister Harper has been taking a lot of criticism in certain quarters for returning from his recent G-8 meetings without signing the much-ballyhooed Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the European Union (EU). That the PM never tied closure of CETA to his G-8 visit does not seem to matter to his critics. …
Clearly, concluding the Canada-EU CETA has taken longer than expected – and it will take a bit longer. How much more time depends on when the participants tire of the ritual stork dance and decide they have extracted as much as they can from the other side.
In the CETA negotiations, Ottawa is saddled with coordinating the interests and safeguarding the sensitivities of ten provinces and three territories. Meanwhile, the EU has 28 member states – Croatia became the newest EU member on July 1, 2013. … They are simply not herdable or manageable, whether in a group of 13 or 28.
Such wide-ranging negotiations, albeit in a WTO Doha Round context, were described by Don Stephenson – a very astute Canadian WTO Ambassador and a truly canny negotiator – as “a multi-dimensional chess game”. In trade negotiations, nothing is done until everything is done – until then the various players will act like Oliver Twist, always asking for more.
*Peter Clark, a former Canadian trade negotiator, is president of Grey, Clark, Shih and Associates Ltd., an Ottawa-based international trade consultancy. He is a frequent media commentator and appears regularly before Parliamentary Committees, analyzing trade and commercial policy issues.
3 July
Jeffrey Simpson: We have pandas, but no trade deal with China
beyond the pandas and the loose talk of “strategic partnership,” not much out of the ordinary has been happening between China and Canada. The Harper government isn’t keen on free-trade talks, hasn’t passed the investment protection agreement it sought and has imposed new rules for SOE takeovers.
28 June
Lee Berthiaume: CIDA officially no more
The merger has prompted varied reaction, with some seeing it as a positive step that will make CIDA and Canadian international development more relevant and better co-ordinated, and others worried the government simply wants to make foreign aid a tool for increasing trade.
27 June
Canada-China investment deal still waiting for cabinet ratification
A Canada-China investment deal once touted as key to expanding jobs and economic growth remains mysteriously unratified nine months after being tabled in Parliament.
(Toronto Star) The NDP has suggested there is deep unease in the Conservative caucus about the deal. The NDP’s trade critic Don Davies claims it gives a greater legal foothold in Canada for Chinese investment, constricts the ability of municipal governments to regulate environmental and other protections, without significantly increasing benefits and rights for Canadians doing business in China.
The Conservative government repeatedly sidesteps questions about what is holding up the process, boasting that it tabled the Canada-China FIPA on Sept. 26, 2012, acting on an election promise to table international treaties in the House of Commons.
But the government was in a position to legally ratify the deal 21 sitting days after its introduction in Parliament. The federal cabinet has been in a position to officially enact the treaty since Nov. 1.
It is not a motion or legislation, so no debate is required. It was briefly examined by a Commons committee dominated by a majority of government MPs, but since then has dropped off the political agenda.
In the interim, however, the Conservative government did approve the controversial $15.1-billion takeover by CNOOC Ltd., a Chinese state-owned oil giant, of Canadian-owned Nexen. Chinese state-controlled media reported it was China’s largest overseas investment last year.
24 June
Jeremy Kinsman: Canada-EU relationship about much more than trade
(Op-Ed Ottawa Citizen) the strength of the relationship lies in “affiliate sales” from direct investment in each other’s market which typically are three to four times the trade in goods. This is quite different from the Canada-U.S. relationship where trade flows and affiliate sales are historically roughly equal. To view the Canada-EU relationship through trade alone is completely misleading.
This is the background to the innovative but very difficult new kind of agreement being attempted. It is not a “free-trade agreement.”
7 June
Ottawa lowers expectations for EU deal ahead of G8 summit
(Globe & Mail) Trade talks and tax havens are poised to dominate Stephen Harper’s European tour next week, but neither issue is shaping up to be a source of political good news for a Prime Minister enduring one of the most politically challenging periods of his more than seven years in office.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman is playing down expectations that a free trade deal with the European Union will be inked during the trip, even though Canada intensified negotiations in recent weeks in the hope of ending the negotiations. (Canada.com) Pressure is on Europe-bound Stephen Harper as Canada-EU trade deal remains elusive
6 June
Canada-EU Trade Talks Hinge on Beef and Pork Access
(Bloomberg) Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s trade agreement with the European Union, which would be his most ambitious to date, hinges on access to the single market for Canadian beef and pork producers.
An impasse over meat imports means a pact probably won’t be reached during Harper’s trip to Europe next week, a person with knowledge of the negotiations said yesterday. European officials may be trying to use Harper’s visit to pressure Canada into accepting unfavorable terms, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks aren’t public.
Lee Berthiaume: Saudis cancelled trade meet over Baird gaffe: report
(Ottawa Citizen) A controversial coffee meeting two months ago has suddenly put Canada’s multibillion-dollar trade ties with Saudi Arabia under the spotlight. The two countries were to participate in a major economic summit in Toronto this spring, but the meeting has been postponed indefinitely.
Canadian officials and the Saudi Embassy have refused to say why the Joint Economic Commission meeting won’t be held as planned.
4 June
John Ibbitson: Liberals, NDP likely to fall in line on EU trade deal
On the better-late-than-never front, Canada and the European Union are expected to announce their long-awaited trade agreement during Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s trip to Europe next week. If so, this will make things interesting for the NDP and the Liberals.
The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA, will go much farther than FTA ever contemplated. Its most controversial clauses are expected to extend patent protections for pharmaceuticals, leading to higher drug prices.
Provinces and municipalities could be forced to open their procurement programs to European firms, and there could also be limited concessions on agriculture.
31 May
Canada-EU trade talks at crucial stage
Canadian negotiators have been instructed to remain in Brussels for nine additional days as the Harper government makes its most concerted effort yet to clinch a major trade agreement with the European Union.
The Tories are putting the finishing touches on a huge communications strategy to sell a deal they hope can be reached by the time Prime Minister Stephen Harper heads to Europe in advance of the June 17-18 Group of Eight summit. …
For weeks, both sides have been saying they are very close to a deal, with only a few details left to be worked out.
But like all trade negotiations, the most difficult concessions are left until last. Matching up the trade-offs each country is prepared to make has taken time. …
Newfoundland Premier Kathy Dunderdale has recently drawn attention to the pressure Ottawa is putting on provinces to make concessions for an EU deal. (John Ivison: Canada ready to sign EU trade deal, but Newfoundland may throw wrench in the plan)
29 May
Harper can’t seem to close the big deals
(Globe & Mail) Stephen Harper has campaigned on free trade, but so far he’s been better at opening big talks than closing big deals. Now crunch time is coming.
In a few weeks, Mr. Harper faces yet another self-imposed deadline to strike a trade deal with the European Union. He’s missed target dates so many times before – all [the] while promising a deal and touting its importance – that he’s painted himself into a corner. … An EU agreement would be a major trade step for Canada. It would also be revealing for other potential trade-agreement partners: A deal would give them a map of Canada’s sensitive areas on trade. No deal would suggest Mr. Harper can’t commit.
23 May
Stephen Harper passes on Pacific Alliance but vows to maintain close relations with Americas
… when it came time for Canada to formally ask to join them at the negotiating table, Harper took a pass for now.
Harper praised Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru for coming together in an effort to knock down walls and become more economically competitive while at the same time working to strengthen their respective democracies together.
20 May
Harper travelling to Colombia as ‘observer’ at Pacific Alliance trade meeting
The Pacific Alliance was formed by Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru in 2011 and Canada took a spot on the sidelines the next year, along with several other countries as observers. … The goal of the nascent alliance is to tear down what economic borders remain between their countries, creating an integrated market to rival and compete both internationally and regionally with that of Mercosur.
9 May
Canada-EU trade deal nears; agriculture is final sticking point
The European Union’s ambassador to Canada said special access for agriculture goods is the last holdout to a trade deal between Brussels and Ottawa and drew a line in the sand over how much market access the EU could offer Canadian beef producers.
… The deal is long overdue. The Conservatives promised in the last election campaign to sign one by 2012. … Ottawa’s long-delayed trade deal with South Korea stands as a reminder of what can go wrong when Canada fails to beat the United States to the punch.
The Tories are under pressure to deliver. Almost since taking office, they have talked of signing major trade agreements that diversify commerce away from the slow-growing United States but have so far failed to land one significant accord that would underpin what has become a major pillar of the Harper economic strategy. Negotiations with India and other big economies have also made little progress.
22 April
Delayed China Trade Deal Reflects Tory Dissent, NDP Says
(HuffPost) The government had signalled last fall its intention to ratify the investment treaty it signed with China and tabled in Parliament in September, but six months have passed and the Conservatives have yet to adopt the deal.
“The Canada-China investment treaty has not been unanimously accepted — even among Conservatives,” NDP international trade critic Don Davies told CBC News in a telephone interview on Sunday.
The Canadian government has been criticized for negotiating this deal behind closed doors. Opposition critics and experts say it contains significant gaps and provides few benefits for Canada. …
Conservatives have pointed out that the FIPA with China didn’t have to be debated in Parliament because treaty making is a royal prerogative and as such can become law through a cabinet order-in-council after sitting in Parliament for no less than 21 days after being tabled on Sept. 26, 2012.
18 April
IRPP Study: Greater clarity required in Canada’s foreign investment rules
Foreign Direct Investment and the National Interest — A Way Forward (.pdf)
By Dany H. Assaf and Rory A. McGillis
What is Canada’s national interest with respect to FDI? Is there a need for further policy reform in light of the patterns and flows of changes in international capital, trade and investment? Where do we stand in relation to other global competitors for investment? In this study, Dany Assaf and Rory McGillis examine these questions as they pertain to the ICA and assess how transparent, clear and coherent the Act is compared with the regimes of 11 other countries.
15 March
EU trade deal could cost Canada jobs
Pact risks deepening our reliance on natural-resource exports
By Roy Culpeper And John Jacobs, Edmonton Journal
The comprehensive economic and trade agreement (CETA), now in the final stage of negotiations between Canada and the European Union, presents Canadians with dubious trade benefits and a number of serious downsides.
The challenge for Canada’s pattern of trade is to move beyond a reliance on natural resource exports by developing its high technology sectors.
Roughly speaking, Canada currently exchanges gold and diamonds for EU pharmaceuticals and motor vehicles, an imbalance that will only be reinforced by CETA. According to the OECD “low-technology manufacturing will decline in importance in industrialized counties,” suggesting that Canada needs broader industrial policies that increase innovation and productivity.
However, our prognosis suggests that CETA would reduce Canada’s policy options for developing our industrial sector.
21 February
Canada-EU Free Trade Deal Will Be Scrapped If Canada Doesn’t Give More: Trade Official
The European Union is threatening to shut down a long-awaited trade deal with Canada unless the Harper government offers more in the way of concessions, according to multiple news reports. …
Among the sticking points for the EU is access to Canada’s dairy market, which is protected by a supply management system. The EU also wants longer patent protection on pharmaceuticals, something that could cost Canadians as much as $900 million annually in additional health care costs.
15 February
Brian Lee Crowley: Canada needs to close its free-trade deals
(Ottawa Citizen) One such opportunity that awaits a gifted closer is the free trade deal with the 500 million consumers of the European Union. Despite the fact that Canada is a trading nation, and that better access to foreign markets is one of the most powerful ways of raising our own standard of living, we have not concluded a trade agreement with a major economy since NAFTA in 1994. That’s 20 years.
It hasn’t been for lack of trying. If you visit the website of Foreign Affairs, you’ll see the list of countries with whom we are seeking to negotiate free trade deals. It includes India and Japan and the trans-Pacific Partnership, that might open the doors to China and other growing Asian economies.
But most of those negotiations are embryonic at best. The only one we got close to signing, with South Korea, has basically been defeated by opposition from the Canadian auto industry. Instead we have been signing deals with worthy countries like Jordan, Peru and Costa Rica, countries with whom our trade is valuable but microscopic.
13 February
Danielle Goldfarb: Did Obama Just Derail the Canada-EU Trade Deal?
(Open Canada) Now that access to the huge U.S. economy is on offer for the EU, it will become harder for Canada to get the EU’s attention. If the U.S. gets a deal but Canada does not (or Canada gets only a narrow deal), our companies will be at a disadvantage in the EU market compared with U.S. companies. And the U.S. is not the only country negotiating with the EU – Mexico already has a deal, and Japan and India have started negotiations.
2012
Walking the Silk Road: Understanding Canada’s Changing Trade Patterns
(Conference Board of Canada) Canada’s trading patterns have changed fundamentally over the past decade. The Canadian–U.S. trade relationship is waning in importance, while emerging markets, particularly China, are becoming increasingly important. Also, our trade strengths are shifting away from some manufactured products toward professional services and products related to our natural resource wealth. These changes are not just the result of the strong dollar; the growing role of emerging markets and shrinking trade barriers are key drivers. This briefing examines these changes and a wide array of factors affecting them. (December 2012)
18 March
Andrew Coyne: Canada at the crossroad of trade
Within the next few years, Canada could well become the freest trading nation on the face of the Earth. Roughly 75% of our trade is already free, thanks to the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement and its successor, NAFTA. And that, as you’ll see, is just the start. A Canada-European Union deal, called the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), is at the top of the list, with negotiations predicted to wrap up by the end of this year, perhaps even sooner. About 10% of our trade is with Europe even now: with a free-trade agreement in place, that proportion would be certain to expand. At that moment, we would join a select group of countries — Chile, Colombia, Israel, Jordan, Mexico, Morocco, Peru — with guaranteed access to the two richest markets in the world: perhaps the first of the world’s leading economies to attain that status. I say perhaps. South Korea formally entered into a free-trade agreement with the United States this week, and is awaiting ratification of a similar agreement with the EU, so they may beat us to the punch.