Canada Must Be Champion of Open Trade: C.D. Howe Institute Crisis Working Group on Business Continuity and Trade
April 9, 2020 – Canada must champion open international trade and remain an ‘honest partner’ in the face of a worrying trend among G7 nations towards export restrictions on critical goods, says the C.D. Howe Institute’s Crisis Working Group on Business Continuity and Trade.
The group of economists and industry experts, co-chaired by Dwight Duncan, Senior Strategic Advisor at McMillan LLP and former Ontario Minister of Finance, and Jeanette Patell, Vice-President of Government Affairs and Policy for GE Canada, held its third meeting on Tuesday, April 7, 2020. They emphasized that open international trade is essential to Canada – both in the immediate crisis and for the long-term. The working group observed a worrisome tide…
Why is the United States delaying approval of the new trade agreement with Canada and Mexico? – Globe and Mail Op-Ed
It’s increasingly difficult to get a handle on where U.S. trade policy is going at any particular time. The latest twist concerns ratification of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (called CUSMA in Canada and USMCA in the United States because U.S. President Donald Trump hates the word “NAFTA”).
All three countries have passed internal legislation approving and implementing the agreement. But CUSMA only becomes legally binding 60 days after official ratification notices are exchanged by the three governments. Last week, Canada provided its notice. Mexico did the same a bit earlier. So far, there’s nothing from the American side. It’s not entirely clear why the U.S. is now holding things up. Media outlets in Washington are unable to…
The last thing we need in a pandemic is me-first instincts of international trade – Globe and Mail Op-Ed
There’s hardly a glimmer of sunshine in the COVID-19 crisis, just a constant stream of horribly depressing news and worrying statistics, with no vaccine or antiviral breakthrough in sight.
The skies darkened even further on Friday, when U.S. President Donald Trump suddenly announced a set of trade restrictions under a Korean-War-era law, prohibiting U.S. exports of medical supplies including surgical face masks made by Minnesota-based 3M Corp. The order specifically bans exports to Canada.
It comes at the same time Canada and the United States just entered into a free trade agreement that says in its preamble that it was concluded in recognition of “the longstanding friendship between them and their peoples, and the strong…
Safeguard Critical Supply Chains by Addressing Weak Links: Crisis Working Group on Business Continuity and Trade
April 2, 2020 – At the second meeting of the C.D. Howe Institute Crisis Working Group on Business Continuity and Trade on Tuesday, March 31, the group underscored the importance of government action to safeguard supply chains for critical goods – and address potential bottlenecks in the transport of goods by truck domestically and internationally.
The group of industry experts and economists, co-chaired by Dwight Duncan, Senior Strategic Advisor at McMillan LLP and former Ontario Minister of Finance, and Jeanette Patell, Vice-President of Government Affairs and Policy for GE Canada, urged governments to work closely with industry to address bottlenecks, but advised caution with regards to direct intervention or taking over supply…
Subsidize Wages, Backstop Credit, Protect Supply Chains: C.D. Howe Institute Business Continuity and Trade Crisis Working Group
March 26, 2020 – In order to help Canadian governments confront the public health and economic crisis resulting from the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the C.D. Howe Institute has established a working group to address challenges for business continuity and trade. The group, co-chaired by Dwight Duncan, Senior Strategic Advisor at McMillan LLP and former Ontario Minister of Finance, and Jeanette Patell, Vice-President of Government Affairs and Policy for GE Canada, held its first meeting on March 24, 2020.
In this meeting, the group of economists and industry experts recommended urgent and immediate implementation of measures by Canada’s federal government to ensure continuity for businesses and not-for-profits – and preserve…
Supporting Growth, Restoring Confidence: A Shadow Federal Budget for 2020
Federal Budget Must Spur Growth, Restore Confidence Ottawa must support economic growth and restore Canadians’ confidence in the country’s fiscal management, according to the C.D. Howe Institute’s annual Federal Shadow Budget. Authors William B.P. Robson and Alexandre Laurin show Ottawa could balance federal finances by 2025 through a combination of measures to boost growth and […] Jon Johnson – Combatting Climate Change With Carbon Border Taxes: Good Or Bad Idea?
From: Jon Johnson To: Canadians Concerned About Climate Change Date: March 5, 2020 Re: Combatting Climate Change with Carbon Border Taxes – Good or Bad Idea? European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen proposes a “carbon border tax” to “avoid carbon leakage.” Bernie Sanders advocates a “carbon intensity fee” (i.e., a carbon border tax) on […] Dan Ciuriak on CTV – Markets Tumble as COVID-19 Spreads
Dan Ciuriak, C.D. Howe Institute Fellow-in-Residence, joins CTV News to discuss the trade and economic impacts of COVID-19.
Quantifying CUSMA: The Economic Consequences of the New North American Trade Regime
February 21, 2020 – The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), as amended by the Protocol of Amendment signed December 10, 2019, represents a major overhaul of the now-dated 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), according to Dan Ciuriak, Ali Dadkhah, and Jingliang Xiao. However, as the authors note in “Quantifying CUSMA: The Economic Consequences of […] Dan Ciuriak – The New Nafta: Better Than No Nafta But Curb Your Enthusiasm
From: Dan Ciuriak To: Canadians Concerned about US trade policy Date: February 20, 2020 Re: The New NAFTA: Better than no NAFTA but curb your enthusiasm As Parliament takes up the study of the new NAFTA, we provide some quantitative evidence concerning the economic and trade implications of what is on the table. The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), originally […] CUSMA: Let’s get on with it – Financial Post Op-Ed
Legislation in the form of Bill C-4 to implement the Canada-United States-Mexico trade agreement (CUSMA) was tabled in Parliament last month, has been given second reading in the House, and is now being examined by the Commons Trade Committee.
Once cleared through the committee and ultimately passed into law, it will allow the federal government to ratify CUSMA (Donald Trump may call it “USMCA” but there’s no reason we have to). The U.S. and Mexico have already ratified the agreement. Ninety days after we do, too, it will enter into force. All three countries will then be under legal obligations to comply with its trade-liberalizing provisions. That will be a great benefit to Canada, stabilizing what has been a very stressful…
Lawrence Herman – The Unsettling Us-china Trade Armistice
From: Lawrence Herman To: Canadians concerned about trade Date: February 12, 2020 Re: The Unsettling US-China Trade Armistice International business breathed a sigh of relief last month with the signing of the U.S.-China Phase 1 trade deal, overlooking the fact this is an armistice, not a peace treaty. Even a short-term downing of arms, if it leads to the […]