Cheese remains sticking point in U.K. trade talks as Brits want to maintain access
Despite a Canadian proclamation that cheese won’t be a subject of negotiations during free trade discussions with the United Kingdom, the U.K. is maintaining that it will continue to push for dairy market access. Access to Canada’s supply-managed sector has been a sensitive issue for the Liberal government as market access has been distributed in […]
Limited hope for resolution to historic Canada-U.S. softwood lumber spat, say stakeholders, MPs
As Ottawa embarks on a trade challenge of American countervailing duties on Canadian softwood lumber exports, there is a glimmer of hope that both sides can reach a negotiated settlement to resolve the longstanding dispute. Softwood lumber has long been a trade irritant along the 49th parallel, as both Democratic and Republican administrations have taken […]
The government must get serious about the skills gap
A shortage of tradespersons leads to higher labour costs, which in turn leads to higher home prices, less housing inventory, and longer wait times for virtually everything consumed within our economy.
Collective action needed to confront authoritarian regimes, says departing Taiwanese envoy
Taiwan’s outgoing representative says the troubled Canada-China relationship and the Russian invasion of Ukraine shows the need for democracies to stand together. “If we are not going to prepare today … then tomorrow everyone is going to suffer,” Taiwanese representative Winston Wen-yi Chen told The Hill Times during an interview at the Taipei Economic and […]
In time of transition, Canada-U.K. ties are stronger than ever
As I visit Canada for the first time as the United Kingdom’s minister for North America, back across the Atlantic, Ukraine is marking 31 years of independence from the Soviet Union. This is the moment to reflect on how far Ukraine has come as a free democracy since embracing its freedom, and how vital it […]
India looks to quickly wrap draft of interim trade deal with Canada, as both sides discuss additional early pact
To overcome hurdles that prevented Canada and India from reaching a free trade deal, the two sides are discussing rolling out a series of phased agreements that could eventually lead to a comprehensive pact. In March, Canada and India announced their intention to start negotiations towards a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), with the objective […]
Anniversaries matter, and NAFTA (CUSMA) is approaching the big ’30’
Anniversaries are a time for both reflection and forward planning. And NAFTA, now the CUSMA, is approaching such a major milestone, with the preliminary agreement having been initialled on Aug. 12, 1992, before coming into effect on Jan. 1, 1994. The FTA and then NAFTA fundamentally changed how Canadian business thought about doing business beyond […]
The hunt for interprovincial trade barriers is stalling Canada’s post-pandemic reconstruction
This summer marks the five-year anniversary of the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA), a provincial pact with the federal government that flies well below most people’s radars. Despite its young age, the agreement is looking like a dusty relic that’s out of place in today’s world. In fact, the deal’s single-minded focus on eliminating so-called […]
Four years in, Canada-Saudi diplomatic impasse shows no signs of resolution, but trade continues
After a now-infamous tweet criticizing Saudi Arabia’s human rights record in 2018 led to the fracturing of relations between Ottawa and Riyadh, a Middle East expert and Canada’s last ambassador to Saudi Arabia say the diplomatic impasse isn’t likely to end anytime soon. With the rising tide of authoritarianism around the globe, the Liberal government […]
Reopening Ukraine’s Black Sea corridor is a humanitarian issue
LONDON, U.K.—“Not all issues have yet been resolved, but the fact that there is movement is already good,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said in Tehran on Tuesday. “We feel that, incrementally, there’s been a little bit more progress made, but there’s nothing to announce at this stage,” said Farhan Haq, spokesman for United Nations Secretary-General […]
