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

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.