Patents, Copyright and Competition: Assessing the Impact of Trade Deals on Canada
Controversial changes to drug patent and copyright rules required under Canada’s recent trade deals will have manageable side effects, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Patents, Copyright and Competition: Assessing the Impact of Trade Deals on Canada,” authors Daniel Schwanen and Aaron Jacobs review claims that strengthened protection for patents […] Konrad von Finckenstein – Tweaking NAFTA
From: Konrad von Finckenstein To: The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Global Affairs Date: February 22, 2017 Re: Tweaking NAFTA After his bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Trudeau on February 13th, President Donald Trump commented that he only wished to “tweak” NAFTA, and wanted to deal bilaterally with Canada first. Frequently mentioned candidates for tweaking are rules of origin, […]How Trumponomics Turns into a Global Trade War: Globe and Mail Op-Ed
U.S. President Donald Trump’s expansionary fiscal-policy plans and activist trade policies are on a collision course that could lead to a trade war. To avoid that war, it’s vital that U.S. tax reforms be revenue-neutral and geared at expanding the supply side of the economy.
Now is not the right time for debt-financed “stimulus.” That policy would only lead to larger trade deficits and more pressure on Mr. Trump to adopt protectionist trade policies. To provide wise counsel to our American friends and to prepare for a trade war should it erupt, Canadians must understand why Mr. Trump’s policies are on a collision course.
Mr. Trump is proposing large tax cuts, a rise in defence spending and a large infrastructure program.…
Daniel Schwanen – Canada’s Trade Priorities In A Renegotiated Nafta
From: Daniel Schwanen To: The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Foreign Affairs Date: February 16, 2017 Re: Canada’s Trade Priorities in a Renegotiated NAFTA President Donald Trump only wants to “tweak” NAFTA, according to his comments at the bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on February 13. If so, what should Canada be looking […] When ‘Tweaking’ Nafta, Bilateral Talks Are Best: Globe And Mail Op-ed
There’s been a wringing of hands among members of Canada’s trade-policy community over the suggestion that the Trudeau government might do a revised trade deal with the U.S. on a bilateral basis instead of linking hands with Mexico and keeping the negotiations within the trilateral NAFTA framework.
There was pushback over a column of mine last month proposing just that – that Canada should pursue talks with the Americans bilaterally instead of within confines of the North American free-trade agreement. This wasn’t because of disregard for Mexico, but because trade issues between Canada and the U.S. are fundamentally different than the problems the Trump administration has on its southern border.
Given this…
Aftershocks: Quantifying the Economic Impacts of a US Border Adjustment Tax
The imposition of a border adjustment tax (BAT) by the United States would hit Canadian exporters hard, according to a C.D. Howe Institute report. In “Aftershocks: Quantifying the Economic Impacts of a US Border Adjustment Tax,” authors Dan Ciuriak and Jingliang Xiao find a BAT would be trade-distorting and economically damaging to the United States […] Dan Ciuriak – Don’t Take A Bat To Trade Policy
From: Dan Ciuriak To: The Canadian Business Community Date: February 13, 2017 Re: Don’t Take a BAT to Trade Policy The United States is an outlier amongst economically advanced countries as the only one that does not have a value added tax (VAT), which is the conventional and WTO-sanctioned approach to applying an economically efficient […] Dennis DesRosiers – Trump, Trade and the Automotive Industry, Part III
To: Canadian Trade Policy Makers From: Dennis DesRosiers Date: January 26, 2017 Re: Trump, Trade and the Automotive Industry, Part III Beyond the possibility of his reneging on US trade agreements, what if President Trump simply imposed a 35 percent tariff on vehicles coming out of Mexico? Most vehicles manufactured in Mexico are small entry-level […]Dennis DesRosiers – Trump, Trade and the Automotive Industry, Part II
To: Canadian Trade Policy Makers From: Dennis DesRosiers Date: January 26, 2017 Re: Trump, Trade and the Automotive Industry, Part II In order to understand the impact of Trump policy and the broad (policy) direction discussed in Part I of my memo series, one has to understand that the North American automotive sector is highly integrated […]Dennis DesRosiers – Trump, Trade and the Automotive Industry, Part I
To: Canadian Trade Policy Makers From: Dennis DesRosiers Date: January 26, 2017 Re: Trump, Trade and the Automotive Industry, Part I A lot of questions have emerged about a Trump presidency and what it means for the automotive sector: Can he do what he is threatening? What are the consequences if he carries through on […]Protectionism and Retaliation
Canada, along with Mexico, is particularly heavily exposed to trade with the United States. Amid such high uncertainty, we consider the implications of a historical example of an attempt to address so-called trade imbalances, namely the ‘Nixon measures’ of 1971. This publication models a Nixon-measures-type 10 percent tariff surcharge unilaterally imposed by the United States on its trade partners and models a Canadian tariff of 10 percent against the United States to see whether Canada is better or worse off by retaliating. To Counter Trump on Trade, Canada Needs Allies in Congress: Globe and Mail Op-Ed
Incoming U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will be releasing a list of NAFTA matters for discussion shortly as renegotiation of the trilateral trade deal is high on the agenda of President Donald Trump. While the renegotiation may commence soon, Mr. Trump has threatened to tear up the North American free-trade agreement as a negotiating strategy. Can the President follow through with this threat and unilaterally cause the U.S. to withdraw from NAFTA, or must Congress agree?
The possibility of a unilateral withdrawal without Congressional approval would put real pressure on the Canadian and Mexican governments to agree to U.S. demands. However, in my report I show that under the Constitution, Congress must agree if the…