Dear International Trade and Investment Committee Members,
Here are the international trade and investment articles and publications of interest for the week of March 31 to April 6. This week’s edition has been curated by Alexandra Logvin. Alexandra is an associate at Fasken Martineau in Ottawa.
Top News: Ukraine-Russia
- We, the Foreign Ministers of NATO, are united in our condemnation of Russia’s illegal military intervention in Ukraine and Russia’s violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. We do not recognize Russia’s illegal and illegitimate attempt to. We urge Russia to take immediate steps, as set out in the statement by the annex Crimea NATO-Ukraine Commission, to return to compliance with international law and its international obligations and responsibilities, and to engage immediately in a genuine dialogue towards a political and diplomatic solution that respects international law and Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders. We support the deployment of an OSCE monitoring mission to Ukraine.
- Our goal of a Euro-Atlantic region whole, free, and at peace has not changed, but has been fundamentally challenged by Russia. We support the sovereignty, political independence, and territorial integrity of all states within their internationally recognised borders. An independent, sovereign, and stable Ukraine, firmly committed to democracy and respect for human rights, minorities, and the rule of law, is key to Euro-Atlantic security.
- In order to demonstrate our commitment to Ukraine, we will intensify our cooperation in the framework of our Distinctive Partnership. Today NATO and Ukraine have agreed, as set out in the statement by the NATO-Ukraine Commission, to implement immediate and longer-term measures in order to strengthen Ukraine’s ability to provide for its own security.
- We have also today agreed a package of measures aimed at deepening our cooperation with other NATO partners in Eastern Europe, in consultation with them and within our existing bilateral programmes.
- Over the past twenty years, NATO has consistently worked for closer cooperation and trust with Russia. However, Russia has violated international law and has acted in contradiction with the principles and commitments in the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council Basic Document, the NATO-Russia Founding Act, and the Rome Declaration. It has gravely breached the trust upon which our cooperation must be based.
- We have decided to suspend all practical civilian and military cooperation between NATO and Russia. Our political dialogue in the NATO-Russia Council can continue, as necessary, at the Ambassadorial level and above, to allow us to exchange views, first and foremost on this crisis. We will review NATO’s relations with Russia at our next meeting in June.
- As stated by our Heads of State and Government at the Chicago Summit in 2012, NATO is based on solidarity, Alliance cohesion, and the indivisibility of our security. In the current situation, the Alliance has already taken steps to demonstrate solidarity and strengthen its ability to anticipate and respond quickly to any challenges to Alliance security. We will continue to provide appropriate reinforcement and visible assurance of NATO’s cohesion and commitment to deterrence and collective defence against any threat of aggression to the Alliance.
- Ukraine has rejected moves by Russia to almost double the price of Russian gas supplies to the country and threatened legal action.
- Ukraine's interim PM, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, said Moscow's hikes were a form of "economic aggression".
- Correspondents say the gas price rise could also affect supplies to Europe.
Other News
- Consultations with members have revealed that most are reluctant to proceed with the negotiations on a multilateral register of geographical indications for wines and spirits until a clearer picture emerges on the Doha Round as a whole, the talks’ chairperson Alfredo Suescum reported on 1 April 2014.
- On the occasion of the visit of the President of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping, to Brussels, the EU announced its strong support for China joining ongoing negotiations to liberalise trade in services. The EU's position is reflected in the EU-China joint statement issued at the Summit.
- German exchange operator Deutsche Boerse has again become the target of U.S. authorities in an investigation over whether its Clearstream Banking unit violated U.S. money laundering and Iran sanction laws.
- The 4th EU-Africa Summit brought together more than 60 EU and African leaders, and a total of 90 delegations, to discuss the future of EU-Africa relations and reinforce links between the two continents.
Government Announcements/Press Releases
- The Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade, today marked the first anniversary of the coming into force of the Canada-Panama Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
- Panama is one of the fastest-growing markets in Latin America. On April 1, 2013, the Canada-Panama trade agreement eliminated tariffs on more than 90 percent of Canadian goods exported to Panama, directly benefiting Canadian exporters in a variety of sectors, including aerospace, pharmaceuticals, pulp and paper, and agriculture and agri-food. Other elements covered by the Canada-Panama FTA include market access for goods, cross-border trade in services, telecommunications, investment, financial services and government procurement.
- Since 2006, Canada has concluded free trade agreements with 10 countries, including the recent Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement, Canada’s first free trade agreement in Asia. The year 2013 was a historic one for trade, with Canada reaching an agreement-in-principle with the European Union and launching the Global Markets Action Plan.
- The Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade, announced that Canada has signed a US$105-million contract with the Philippines to supply eight specialized helicopters manufactured by Bell Helicopter Textron Canada Ltd.
- The contract was negotiated under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Canadian Commercial Corporation and the Philippines’ Department of National Defense. Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the MOU during his visit to the Philippines in November 2012.
- Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird was at NATO headquarters in Brussels today for the Foreign Ministers Meeting and the NATO-Ukraine Commission, where responding to Russia’s recent actions was high on the agenda. “The Russian Federation’s willingness to use force to redraw the European map demonstrates an assault on the basic principles of state sovereignty and the rule of law,” Baird said. “The unilateral intervention in Crimea is damaging the global security architecture that we have laboured so long to preserve.”
- The Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade, today announced that he will lead a trade mission to China, from May 18 to 23, 2014, that will focus on the sustainable technologies sector.
- The Canadian delegation will participate in IE Expo 2014, Asia’s leading environmental trade show in Shanghai, before travelling to Nanjing and Guangzhou. The trade mission will help Canadian small and medium-sized businesses take advantage of opportunities in soil remediation and water and wastewater treatment in China.
- The European Commission welcomes the entry into force on 6 April 2014 of the revised World Trade Organisation's Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA), the only legally binding agreement in the WTO on the subject of government procurement. Internal Market and Services Commissioner Michel Barnier said: “The revised GPA will give businesses in the countries that are party to the agreement significant additional opportunities on each other’s’ public procurement markets. It will also make public procurement rules in the GPA jurisdictions more transparent and predictable, in line with the spirit of the recently adopted reforms of EU public procurement rules. I invite all the GPA parties that have not yet ratified it to do so and hope that the entry into force of the revised GPA will pave the way for other WTO members to join in the near future.”
Commentary
- Over the last decade, the economic performance of Latin America has, generally speaking, improved. The continent’s growth has been in line with the world average and above that of advanced economies. However, long-term prospects are increasingly uncertain, with a slowdown of economic growth and a rise in inflation in some countries, accompanied by social tensions around the region.
- As Apple Inc. (AAPL) was being targeted by an onslaught of negative advertising from arch-rival Samsung Electronics Co. (005930), the iPhone maker was racing to figure out how to fight back, according to evidence presented at a $2 billion patent trial.