Dear International Trade and Investment Sub-Committee Members,
Here are the international trade and investment articles and publications of interest for the week of January 5 to January 11. Anca Sattler has curated this week’s edition. Anca is an associate at Gowlings in Ottawa, practising primarily in the areas of international trade law, copyright law, and commercial litigation.
News
- Director-General Roberto AzevĂŞdo, noting that the WTO will commemorate its 20th anniversary in 2015, said: “Over the years the WTO has helped to boost trade growth, resolve numerous trade disputes and support developing countries to integrate into the trading system. It has also provided a bulwark against protectionism, the value of which was made plain in the trade policy response to the 2008 crisis, which was very calm and restrained in contrast to the protectionist panic that followed previous crises. Indeed, when the global economy is more interconnected than ever, it is difficult to imagine a world without the WTO.”
- The U.S. trade deficit fell to an 11-month low in November as declining crude oil prices curbed the import bill, eclipsing a drop in exports that could be related to a labor dispute at one of the nation's key ports.
- The Canadian International Merchandise Trade (CIMT) online database offers detailed export and import trade data using the Harmonized System (HS) classification of goods (based on the 6-digit commodity level). Select a trading partner and specific variables (e.g., country, province, state, year, month, or frequency) or search by commodity or Harmonized System code.
- Merchandise imports and exports between "Canada" and "World", by Harmonized System section, customs basis, November 2014.
- The Seafarers International Union of Canada is today raising the alarm to inform Canadians that the Maritime provisions of the Canadian-European Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) could result in an open door of entry for terrorists, as well as create other security threats.
- Under CETA, foreign owned and crewed vessels would gain more access to Canadian Cabotage; meaning they would be free to trade between Canadian Ports, something previously reserved for Canadian flagged and Canadian crewed vessels only.
- The European Union and nations including South Korea and South Africa have banned all U.S. poultry, eggs and other poultry products in response to the avian flu outbreaks in Washington and Oregon. Others, including Canada, have placed specific trade restrictions on Washington and Oregon. This form of avian flu is not contagious to humans.
Government Announcements/Press Releases
- The Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade, today marked the entry into force of the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement (CKFTA), Canada’s first free trade agreement in the Asia Pacific region. Hard-working Canadians will now be able to take full advantage of the benefits and opportunities the agreement creates.
- International Trade Minister Ed Fast, Minister of Natural Resources and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario Greg Rickford and Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Gerry Ritz welcome the opening of India’s market to Canadian ash wood and timber products.
- The Honourable Lynne Yelich, Minister of State (Foreign Affairs and Consular), today congratulated SED Systems on its $11.7‑million contract to supply General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada (GDLS-C) with power control modules.
- Transport Minister Lisa Raitt and International Trade Minister Ed Fast issued the following joint statement in response to a communiqué issued by the Seafarers International Union of Canada linking the Canada-European Union free trade agreement with the recent terrorist attacks in France.
Commentary
- Despite challenges in the global economy, in 2015, there will be important opportunities available for Canada to grow its international trade. The federal government is opening doors to new markets including the European Union and Korea. With expertise, products, and resources that are in demand in global markets, Canadian companies can position themselves to step through those doors. We have identified 5 trade trends for 2015, based on Conference Board of Canada research by the Global Commerce Centre.
- As 2014 drew to a close, a couple of major research firms took a look at where most of the action was happening in the exchange-traded fund (ETF) world.
- The Financial Times teamed up with financial data provider Markit to examine ETF flows in Europe and the U.S. Their data found investors scrambling to get a piece of the economic recovery in the U.S.—international flows into ETFs with exposure to the U.S. were equivalent to around 50% of starting assets under management—and the strongest since 2008.
- Clouded in secrecy, the United States is negotiating a trade agreement with 11 other countries throughout the Asia-Pacific region, including Mexico, known as the Trans Pacific Partnership (TTP).
- TPP has been compared to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a trade agreement between Mexico, the U.S, and Canada that was signed by President Bill Clinton in 1993 and came into effect in 1994. Critics of TPP have referred to it as NAFTA on steroids.