Canada’s Pivot to the Indo-Pacific: The Strategic Importance of Prioritizing a Trade Agreement with ASEAN

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Page Title:Canada’s Pivot to the Indo-Pacific: The Strategic Importance of Prioritizing a Trade Agreement with ASEAN – C.D. Howe Institute
Article Title:Canada’s Pivot to the Indo-Pacific: The Strategic Importance of Prioritizing a Trade Agreement with ASEAN
URL:https://cdhowe.org/publication/canadas-pivot-indo-pacific-strategic-importance-prioritizing-trade-agreement/
Published Date:February 10, 2022
Accessed Date:February 17, 2025

Canada-ASEAN Trade Deal Critical Pivot for Wider Economic Engagement in the East

  • As Canada frames its new Indo-Pacific strategy, a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should be at its centre, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute.
  • Authors Dan Ciuriak, Lucy Ciuriak, Ali Dadkhah, Yingkang Lyu and Yun Wen outline the benefits of a renewed economic engagement in the region, which could bring significant income gains for Canada and set the stage for broader entry into the region’s markets.
  • The study details the considerable economic opportunities to be gained by the Canadian economy through a new agreement with ASEAN. While Canada has a history of under-trading in the region, in the scenarios modelled, Canada would reap the benefits and could see potential bilateral trade increases of up to $4.3 billion, real GDP gains of 0.03 percent, income gains of $2.1 billion (the equivalent of up to $200 per year for a family of four), as well as net job creation on the order of 2-3 thousand.

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