Feds pursuing TPP revival, crunching numbers on new deal
The government’s trade experts are drawing up a playbook for talks on a reworked 11-country Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, trying to anticipate what the remaining members will want in order to swing a deal without the United States. “I think it’s safe to say that there will be some changes,” said a government official speaking on […]
One Belt One Road could shift global economic centre
TORONTO—China aims to redraw the political and economic maps of the world in a highly ambitious geo-economics project. It is important that we understand this new geography, as the global economic centre of gravity shifts from the Atlantic world to the Eurasian world, stretching from the vast reaches of Asia to the centre of Europe. […]
“The countdown for a 90-day notice to renegotiate NAFTA has begun. How should Canada approach these talks?”
Kate Purchase Liberal strategist “NAFTA has helped create good, middle-class jobs and grow our economies, both in Canada and throughout North America. Our integrated economies and supply chains support millions of jobs across the continent, including nine million American jobs that depend on trade and investment with Canada. “The three-month notice period for renegotiating NAFTA […]
Bernier wants to scrap it, but poll suggests majority of Conservative voters back supply management
Libertarians, despair: a new poll shows support for Canada’s supply management system, even if Canadians are told it takes a toll on their pocket-books. Three of every four Canadians polled said they approved when asked to evaluate the agricultural system, described as follows: “Canada protects its dairy and poultry industries from foreign imports with tariffs […]
What China and Canada can learn from CETA
Canada has a problem. Since Pierre Trudeau’s government, Canada has been trying to diversify its trade away from the United States, first to Europe and second to Asia. China, with the world’s second largest national economy, is an ideal prospect. Canada just concluded the second round of exploratory free trade talks with the Chinese. A […]
Canada can’t afford to miss the boat on the Belt and Road
Beijing’s Belt and Road summit and gala last week was not just an elaborate dinner party and display of theatrics. It was China’s version of an invitation to the global community to engage with its most ambitious trade and infrastructure project yet: the US$1-trillion Belt and Road Initiative. First announced by President Xi Jinping in […]
Japan-India axis first step to larger Indo-Pacific grouping of like-minded states
OTTAWA—China may be eager to show itself as a major economic force and voice for trade openness. This was the face China’s President Xi Jinping presented at this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos. It was also fully on display with China’s recent Belt and Road Forum, where 29 leaders from across the Indo-Pacific came […]
NAFTA renegotiation will be ultimate test of Trudeau government
With U.S. President Donald Trump writing a letter to Congress last week to start a 90-day consultation process on NAFTA renegotiations, it’s now just a matter of months before the Trudeau government is in the middle of the defining test of its mandate. The importance of these talks goes far beyond being a ballot question […]
It’s back to the future on free trade
OTTAWA—Like it or not, we are back in the free trade debate. But chances are, it won’t be as divisive as the one we experienced in the election of 1988. This time, there will be a fair bit of unanimity around the big issues. But be prepared for a few Canadian sacred cows to be […]
Liberal MP Eyking says government likely preparing for ‘fallout’ if NAFTA talks fail
With the Donald Trump administration finally triggering the process for renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), one high-ranking Liberal MP says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is likely considering contingency plans should talks fail and Canada ends up without a free trade agreement with the United States, or an arrangement that’s far less favourable. […]
