Op-Eds
As International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland embarks on her cross-country consultations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, her opening question should be a fundamental one. It comes down to how Canadians choose to view the world.
Do we view the world mostly as users of goods and services produced by others? Or do we see ourselves as makers, innovators and providers of goods and services to the global marketplace? Do we see the world as confined mostly to our own backyard? Or as an increasingly open market with vast opportunities on a global scale?
In may seem simplistic, but this is the first question Ms. Freeland should be asking Canadians.
The question is pertinent in the intellectual property…
The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, completed and announced just two months ago, is broad-ranging, opaque for many, and complex like most international trade agreements.
For Canada, the deal involving 11 of our trading partners will be good on balance, albeit it will have negative—or potentially negative—impacts on several sectors or sub-sectors on the Canadian economy.
The benefits and potential costs of this not-yet-signed or implemented agreement will need to be discussed and assessed by a wide variety of individuals and groups in Canada, including other levels of government in their areas of jurisdiction, in every part of the country.
Following this process of extended and inclusive…
Ottawa needs to give TPP decision due process and ignore all the shouting: Globe and Mail Op-Ed
By Lawrence Herman
How does Canada tackle the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, now that the text is finally out?
There’s been a flurry of media reporting and commentary, some of it breathless – the Twittersphere has been going berserk – some of it more reflective and analytical. There’s a vast gourmet offering of information on legal websites.
It’s hard to digest it all. Is this deal good or bad for Canada?
My advice is to stay away from Twitter and the blogs. Don’t be influenced by the shouting of narrow or sectoral interests. This is a vast and detailed agreement, negotiated over many months by skilled Canadian diplomats. It deserves careful, reasoned and balanced assessment.
During the…
By Lawrence Herman
Canadian suppliers would not be entitled to enhanced access to the U.S. market granted to the 10 other TPP members
It’s time to answer some of the misguided arguments about Canada rejecting the TPP Agreement that are being bandied about.
I was dismayed to hear pundits and political candidates claim that, because 85 per cent of our exports are covered under the NAFTA and other trade bilateral agreements, we really don’t need to be part of the TPP anyway.
This shows a regrettable misunderstanding of international trade rules and Canada’s treaty commitments, whether under the World Trade Organization Agreement or elsewhere. So let’s review all this.
Start with the WTO Agreement. It’s a…
By Daniel Schwanen
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has finally landed – or so it seems. The 12 countries who signed on to the deal announced yesterday in Atlanta still have to ratify it. This process will mean that lawmakers and the public at large will review and debate the pros and cons of the agreement, as they see it, in each signatory country.
Canada will, of course, undergo such a debate. Here are three things Canadians should keep in mind as we examine the TPP’s fine print.
First is what this agreement is all about from Canada’s perspective: making it easier for firms here – both big and small – to do business in other member economies. Many large firms and their employees will benefit, since they are…
