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 […]
Special Report: Supply Chain
Ukraine pushes for speedy completion of updated trade agreement with Canada as talks resume
Amid the ongoing Russian invasion, Ukraine is pushing Canada to resume trade negotiations and finalize a modernized agreement expeditiously. The two countries agreed to restart trade negotiations in May and the chief negotiators met for the first time last month. Global Affairs briefing information that was obtained by The Hill Times notes that Ukraine requested […]
Indonesia seeks to finalize trade pact with Canada by 2024, says new ambassador
As Canada embarks on a path to diversify its Asian trading network, Indonesia’s new envoy in Ottawa says Jakarta is aiming to wrap up bilateral trade talks before 2024. The two nations have already completed the first round of negotiations, which took place virtually. The second round is anticipated to take place in August in […]
Canada needs to play larger global role after ‘sluggish’ response to COVID-19 IP waiver, says new South African envoy
After reaching a limited agreement to address intellectual property barriers hindering greater distribution of COVID-19 preventing products, Ottawa was “sluggish” to help find a solution, says South Africa’s newest envoy to Canada. South Africa and India brought forward a waiver at the World Trade Organization Trade Organization’s (WTO) Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) […]
Reputation a real risk to justify Emergencies Act, say experts, but opposition decries lack of receipts
The threat to Canada’s reputation as a reliable trading partner was a key concern leading to the invocation of the Emergencies Act, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland recently told the joint committee examining the decision, saying the convoy protests posed a “real economic threat.” “It was clear to me that with each […]
