Canada & TPPFTA: Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Ag

[Oscar]

Canada and the TPPFTA - Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement


CCCE supports TPP as a catalyst in strengthening the North American partnership building on CUSFTA and NAFTA.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Janet M Eaton" <jmeaton@ns.sympatico.ca>
Sent: Saturday, February 18, 2012 3:18 PM
Subject: CCCE supports TPP as a catalyst in strengthening the North American partnership building on CUSFTA and NAFTA.

The Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE) in a letter to Stephen Harper strongly supports his Government´s recent expression of interest in the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) for among other reasons:

[] the TPP could act as a catalyst in strengthening the North American partnership. It would enable Canada to build on the Canada-American Free Trade Agreement,

fyi-janet

=====================

QUOTE: "The recent adoption of legislation to end the monopoly of the Canadian Wheat Board is proof that Canada is prepared to make important trade policy adjustments. We believe that the same consideration should be given to Canada´s supply-managed dairy and poultry sectors - two industries that are capable of competing internationally at a time when global demand for food and nutrition is increasing."

Letter to The Right Honourable Stephen Harper
http://www.ceocouncil.ca/publication/
letter-to-the-right-honourable-stephen-harper-2

Date February 13, 2012
Publication Type Letters Related Issues
Canada's Role in the World / Fiscal and Tax Policy / Human and
Community Development / Innovation and Competitiveness

February 13, 2012

The Right Honourable Stephen J. Harper, P.C., M.P.
Prime Minister of Canada
Langevin Block
80 Wellington Street, Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2

Dear Prime Minister,

The Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE) strongly supports your Government´s recent expression of interest in the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP).

The TPP represents an historic opportunity for Canadians as our country seeks to expand trade and investment relations in the Asia Pacific region. As a regional arrangement, the TPP has the potential to become a key instrument of Asia-Pacific economic integration. An ambitious agreement would contribute to stronger employment and economic growth in Canada through greater commercial opportunities and diversification of export markets.

In addition, the TPP could act as a catalyst in strengthening the North American partnership. It would enable Canada to build on the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement and its successor, the North American Free Trade Agreement, both of which were completed before the emergence of global supply chains, the growing importance of the service sector and the rise of the Internet.

It is in Canada´s interest to enter the TPP negotiations this year, without pre-condition and with the objective of reaching a comprehensive, ambitious accord within the timeframe currently envisioned by TPP participants. Any attempt to impose preconditions would reduce the value of the negotiations to Canada and make it more difficult to achieve the sorts of tradeoffs that can make possible a balanced final agreement.

Canada´s commitment to open markets speaks for itself. Our country´s track record of trade and investment liberalization through the negotiation of bilateral, regional and multilateral agreements is well established. Your Government´s recent unilateral moves to eliminate tariffs on intermediate goods will position Canada as the first G20 country to become a tariff-free zone for manufacturers.

The recent adoption of legislation to end the monopoly of the Canadian Wheat Board is proof that Canada is prepared to make important trade policy adjustments. We believe that the same consideration should be given to Canada´s supply-managed dairy and poultry sectors - two industries that are capable of competing internationally at a time when global demand for food and nutrition is increasing.

The Government of Canada is fortunate to be able to call on a team of talented and creative trade and investment negotiators. Canada was an important contributor to the development of new global rules and standards at the G20. Canadian negotiators performed superbly in talks on the Canada-United States Action Plans on Perimeter Security
and Economic Competitiveness and Regulatory Cooperation. These negotiating models deserve consideration in the TPP negotiations within the context of trade facilitation and security as well as regulatory coherence.

Canada could contribute to, and benefit from, an ambitious outcome in the TPP negotiations. At the same time, we would encourage a continued focus on other important bilateral economic partnership arrangements.

The CCCE looks forward to working with your Government on this important initiative and wishes you every success in this phase of TPP consultations.

Sincerely,

John Manley
President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Council of Chief Executives

c.c. Members of the Cabinet
The Membership Canadian Council of Chief Executives

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BACKGROUND:

TPP could eclipse NAFTA

http://canadians.org/blog/?p=11943

By Brent Patterson, Tuesday, November 15th, 2011

The Globe and Mail reports this morning, "The Trans-Pacific Partnership (is a) broad multicountry deal (that) could eclipse NAFTA in importance… John Weekes, Canada’s chief NAFTA negotiator, said Ottawa can’t afford to be left out of talks that appear to be offering signatories a deeper economic relationship with the U.S. than can be found in the North American free-trade agreement."

Weekes says, "What we’re talking about here – if it really does become what Obama says it will be – is we’re renegotiating NAFTA in the same way we renegotiated the Canada-U.S. FTA when we started the North American free-trade talks."

The article adds, "The Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, which include countries from Vietnam to New Zealand to Malaysia, seek to forge a massive free-trade zone – one that President Barack Obama’s administration has said will ’set a new standard for global trade’. Japan recently joined and Mexico is also asking for a seat. There’s a new urgency to striking a free-trade pact that, even without Mexico and Canada, would unite 600-million people in nations that produce $20-trillion in annual economic output."

Reuters has reported, "The deal, with Japan included, would create a regional economic group about 40 percent larger than the 27-nation European Union."

It is expected that the broad outlines of the free trade agreement will be completed by July 2012.

Concerns

The Wall Street Journal reports, "The nine countries are promoting it as a 21st-century trade deal that will seek to streamline supply chains, regulations and rules of origin across the region, as well as to facilitate trade of green and digital goods. …Concerns (have been raised) that the intellectual-property protections being proposed for drugs would limit access to life-saving medicines, and that some provisions would continue to allow companies to sue governments over rules to protect the environment."

Postmedia reports, "(This means) Canada’s supply management system is on the table. A handful of countries in the TPP negotiations…have been resisting Canada’s entry into the group because of the Canadian supply management system that protects fewer than 20,000 dairy and poultry farmers behind a tariff wall and hands them production quotas. …The prime minister (now says) Canada can ‘easily meet’ the broad strokes of the agreement unveiled Saturday by Obama, even if it means throwing into the mix a supply management system that forces Canadians to pay higher prices for products like milk, cheese, chicken and eggs."

A Harper government media release issued this past weekend states, "The government has invested over $1.4 billion in the Asia-Pacific Gateway to improve and expand our ports and infrastructure… Examples include the construction of the four-lane South Fraser Perimeter Road along the Fraser River…"

And Platts reports, "Canadian Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said November 13 he wants a regulatory decision by early 2013, a year ahead of the current schedule, on Enbridge’s Northern Gateway project to expedite the shipment of Alberta oil sands crude to Asia. …’The Chinese are ready to buy’, he told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. ‘The issue is building the infrastructure to get our resources to China.’ To that end, Oliver said he now expects Northern Gateway’s hearings to be completed within a year of starting in January 2012."

For additional concerns - on public services, investment and procurement - please see Council of Canadians trade campaigner Stuart Trew’s blog at http://canadians.org/blog/?p=11930.

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Canada’s trade vision shifts beyond the United States

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/
canadas-trade-vision-shifts-beyond-the-united-states/article2235094/

barrie mckenna

OTTAWA— From Monday's Globe and Mail
Published Sunday, Nov. 13, 2011 9:18PM EST
Last updated Monday, Nov. 14, 2011 8:01AM EST

Ottawa has thrust trade with Asia to the top of its economic agenda after the Obama administration imposed a potentially fatal delay on a multibillion-dollar oil pipeline between the two countries.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who met with Barack Obama at the summit of Pacific-rim leaders in the U.S. President’s native state of Hawaii on Sunday, told reporters that last week’s surprise decision on the Keystone XL project proves Canada needs to diversify its trade ties.

“This does underscore the necessity of Canada making sure that we’re able to access Asian markets for our energy products, and that will be an important priority of this government going forward,” he said before a discussion with Mr. Obama at the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in Honolulu.

The broader dilemma for Canada is that its economy is caught between a close neighbour that doesn’t always share its priorities, and distant customers in Asia who want its natural resources but can’t easily get them.

In a powerful indication of Ottawa’s eagerness to strengthen Pacific links, Mr. Harper disclosed that Canada now wants in on APEC’s Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free-trade talks, which would link countries around the Pacific rim, including the United States, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Chile and Vietnam.

“We’re expressing formally our willingness to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership,” Mr. Harper said. “It is something that we’re interested in moving forward on.”

Until now, key participants in the TPP had shunned Canada because of its reluctance to put the highly protected dairy and poultry industries on the table. But on Sunday Canada and Mexico indicated their willingness to join the talks – handing Mr. Obama a chance to pronounce the APEC summit a success. [ . . . ]

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Harper pursues ‘Trans-Pacific Partnership’ free trade agreement

http://canadians.org/blog/?p=11920

By Brent Patterson, Sunday, November 13th, 2011

Postmedia News reports tonight, “Prime Minister Stephen Harper (has announced) Canada will apply to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership and will further look to sell its oil and gas to Asian countries following American delays in approving the Keystone XL pipeline. …The Trans-Pacific Partnership is currently a nine-member Asia-Pacific free-trade proposal being negotiated among the United States, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.” Both Japan and Mexico have also expressed interest in joining the TPP.

Implications?

Postmedia notes, “(This means) Canada’s supply management system is on the table. A handful of countries in the TPP negotiations…have been resisting Canada’s entry into the group because of the Canadian supply management system that protects fewer than 20,000 dairy and poultry farmers behind a tariff wall and hands them production quotas. …The prime minister (now says) Canada can ‘easily meet’ the broad strokes of the agreement unveiled Saturday by Obama, even if it means throwing into the mix a supply management system that forces Canadians to pay higher prices for products like milk, cheese, chicken and eggs.”

The Wall Street Journal reports, “The nine countries are promoting it as a 21st-century trade deal that will seek to streamline supply chains, regulations and rules of origin across the region, as well as to facilitate trade of green and digital goods. …Concerns (have been raised) that the intellectual-property protections being proposed for drugs would limit access to access to life-saving medicines, and that some provisions would continue to allow companies to sue governments over rules to protect the environment.”

A Harper government media release issued this weekend states, “The government has invested over $1.4 billion in the Asia-Pacific Gateway to improve and expand our ports and infrastructure… Examples include the construction of the four-lane South Fraser Perimeter Road along the Fraser River…”

And Platts reports, “Canadian Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said November 13 he wants a regulatory decision by early 2013, a year ahead of the current schedule, on Enbridge’s Northern Gateway project to expedite the shipment of Alberta oil sands crude to Asia. …’The Chinese are ready to buy’, he told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. ‘The issue is building the infrastructure to get our resources to China.’ To that end, Oliver said he now expects Northern Gateway’s hearings to be completed within a year of starting in January 2012.”

Why?

The Globe and Mail notes, “Top Harper government ministers characterized the Keystone delay as a wake-up call. Speaking from Honolulu, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told CTV’s Question Period: “We’ve got to go where the trade is’, adding that Canada needs to work harder to ‘emphasize’ its trading relationships with Asia. Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver similarly told CBC-TV that diversifying away from the United States, particularly in energy, is ‘right at the centre of our thinking. …It is a major, fundamental strategic objective for Canada.’”

Timeline?

The Malaysia Star reports, “The United States and its eight Trans-Pacific Partnership allies have agreed to complete the broad outlines of the free trade agreement by July next year.”

In November 2010, the Globe and Mail reported, “The 21 leaders of APEC signed off on a plan to create a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific by 2020, a long-promised and long-debated effort to open up trade between some of the world’s largest economies.” APEC countries account for approximately 40% of the world’s population, approximately 54% of world GDP, and about 44% of world trade. The Canadian Press added, “The declaration said this goal should build on regional groupings such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free-trade agreement that nine APEC members are negotiating.”

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Canada will need to join global opposition to Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade talks

http://canadians.org/blog/?p=11930

By Stuart Trew, Monday, November 14th, 2011

In addition to Brent Patterson’s blog post this morning about Canada and Mexico requesting to join the TPP free trade talks, I thought I’d share this section from the US Citizens Trade Campaign website. You’ll see from the bullet points (also pasted below) that we’re dealing with another CETA only this one spanning four continents — a kind of Free Trade Area of the Pacific which will also include US-style intellectual property protections, an investor-state dispute process, procurement and pressure on Canada to dismantle its supply management systems for dairy, poultry and eggs.

All other TPP member nations will have to agree to Canada and Mexico (and Japan) joining but it’s probably a sure thing now with Obama’s blessing. The good news is there is healthy opposition to the TPP, including a strong statement by major unions in all of the negotiating countries.

Their joint declaration, released a month ago, states the following on public services:

…The TPPTA must include a broad, explicit carve-out for essential public services, including education, employment services, health care, post, sanitation, social services, transport and utilities. Public services should be excluded regardless of whether or not the public provider competes with private providers. In addition, governments must retain their ability to regulate foreign service providers in order to enact and enforce certification and licensing standards, consumer protections, and other public interest laws. We also urge that the negotiations proceed on a positive list approach…

On investment, the declaration says:

…The TPPTA should not include an investor-to-state dispute resolution mechanism, nor should the rules allow for challenges to legitimate public interest regulations. Foreign investors simply must not be given any greater rights than those enjoyed by domestic investors.

And on procurement:

Often, governments use procurement policy in furtherance of important public policy aims such as local economic development and job creation. Governments have also conditioned procurement to promote environmental and social goals. Governments should ensure that the procurement chapter does not constrain the ability of central, regional or local governments and authorities to carry out these objectives.

Canadian organizations working on trade will need to quickly develop a response to this new front in Harper’s ideological liberalization agenda which includes negotiations with the EU, India, right-of-centre Latin American nations, China and now a group of Asia-Pacific countries who are apparently half a year or so away from signing the TPP.

It won’t be difficult with the existing opposition to the TPP in all participating countries. In October, Japanese farmers groups gathered over 11 million signatures against Japan joining the negotiations. Groups fighting heavy-handed intellectual property rights for pharmaceutical companies have proposed a new approach to intellectual property protection in the TPP talks which US negotiators will fight fiercely.

I’m hoping to have a section on this regional agreement on our website soon. In the meantime, some good links:

Citizens Trade Campaign:
The Trans-Pacific Free Trade Agreement: NAFTA for the Pacific Rim?

http://www.citizenstrade.org/ctc/trade-policies/
tpp-potential-trade-policy-problems/

Exert: Here are some of the questions yet to be answered:

- Labor rights: Will the Trans-Pacific FTA include labor standards based on International Labor Organization conventions, and if included, how will they be enforced?
- Investment Provisions: Will the Trans-Pacific FTA include so-called “investor-to-state” provisions that allow individual corporations to challenge environmental, consumer and other public interest policies as barriers to trade?
- Public Procurement: Will the Trans-Pacific FTA respect nations’ and communities’ right to set purchasing preferences that keep taxpayer dollars re-circulating in local economies?
- Access to Medicines: Will the Trans-Pacific FTA allow governments to produce and/or obtain affordable, generic medications for sick people?
- Agriculture: Will the Trans-Pacific FTA allow countries to ensure that farmers and farm workers are fairly compensated, while also preventing the agricultural dumping that has forced so many family farmers off their land?

If labor, environmental, family farm, consumer, faith, immigrant rights, human rights and other social justice advocates don’t force Trans-Pacific FTA negotiations into the public light, the answers to these questions aren’t likely to be ones we’ll be happy with.

AFTINET: Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network (section on TPP)
http://aftinet.org.au/cms/
trans-pacific-partnership-agreement/trans-pacific-partnership-agreement

Bilaterals.org website section on TPP
http://www.bilaterals.org/spip.php?rubrique129

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Canada to strike new trans-Pacific free trade deal: Harper

http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/11/13/
canada-wants-to-join-u-s-and-asia-pacific-region-free-trade-deal-harper/

Postmedia News Nov 13, 2011 – 7:27 PM ET | Last Updated: Nov 14, 2011 11:57 AM ET

By Jason Fekete

HONOLULU — Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Sunday Canada will apply to join a new free trade agreement with the United States and the Asia-Pacific region, and suggested that Canada’s farm supply management systems could be on the table for negotiation.

Mr. Harper also said Canada will look further into selling its oil and gas to Asian countries due to U.S. delays in approving the Keystone XL pipeline.

The prime minister held a key 25-minute tete-a-tete with U.S. President Barack Obama on Sunday over lunch, on the fringes of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Honolulu, which wrapped up a few hours later.

They’ve agreed to meet again in Washington in early December, when it’s believed the leaders might finally announce details of the Beyond the Border security and trade initiative, which Harper said is on the agenda.

A handful of countries in the TPP negotiations — including possibly New Zealand and the United States — have been resisting Canada’s entry into the group because of the Canadian supply management system that protects fewer than 20,000 dairy and poultry farmers behind a tariff wall and hands them production quotas.

The Conservative government has repeatedly said it will strongly defend Canada’s supply management system and that it wasn’t yet in the country’s interest to join the trade group — something reaffirmed Saturday by International Trade Minister Ed Fast.

But Sunday, Mr. Harper stressed his government now wants into the TPP, currently being negotiated among the United States, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. He said he was informed that Mr. Obama has asked for Canada to join the trade agreement.

The Prime Minister said Canada can “easily meet” the broad strokes of the agreement unveiled Saturday by Mr. Obama, even if it means throwing into the mix a supply management system that forces Canadians to pay higher prices for products like milk, cheese, chicken and eggs.

“It has been told to me that President Obama, in fact, was very strong indicating that he would like to see Canada join the Trans-Pacific Partnership. We are indicating today our formal intention, we’re expressing formally our willingness to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership,” Mr. Harper said.

“We will make an application and I am optimistic we will participate in the future,” he added. [ . . . ]

[Oscar]

Trans-Pacific trade negotiations 'on track'

http://www.smh.com.au/business/
transpacific-trade-negotiations-on-track-20120309-1upc6.html

March 9, 2012

The latest round of negotiations in the ambitious nine-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement concluded in Melbourne this week, with members suggesting the deal was on track ahead of the year-end goal for completion.

Australia's chief negotiator Hamish McCormick refused to offer a date for its completion but said that the 11th round of talks brought substantial progress in the areas of regulatory adherence, the deepening of regional supply chains and the promotion of development.

"We have made further strong headway over the past nine days," said Mr McCormick. "With the progress we've made this week and the plans for the future, we believe TPP negotiations remain on track to conclude negotiations of the comprehensive 21st century agreement."

The TPP aims to lower trade barriers between nine Asia-Pacific nations including Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the US and Vietnam.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade estimates that the TPP could account for annual trade totalling $US17 trillion in 2010 terms. Member countries have expressed hope for finishing the deal by the end of 2012.

Interest in the partnership increased in November after Japan signalled its interest in possibly joining the group. Canada and Mexico have also expressed interest. The importance of the TPP stems both from the rapid growth of the Asian region, as well as the failure of the World Trade Organization to advance trade negotiations.

Although Australia´s largest two-way trade partner China has not been
invited to join in the initial round of the TPP, Mr McCormick said the group´s goal, once an agreement is reached, is to expand in the region.

"We wish to see TPP expand over time to all those Asian-Pacific nations or economies that are interest in joining our endeavour," he said, responding to a question about potential involvement by China.

"None of the countries or economies showing interest in the TPP have been invited," he said. "This is basically a self-selection exercise where economies who are interested talk and observe what's happening in TPP and will make their own decisions about whether they share the same sorts of goals and aspirations that the current nine parties do."

Local economists have said Australia stands to benefit by diversifying Australia´s trade flows across the Pacific, however, civil society groups are wary aspects like investor state dispute settlement provisions being considered in the trade deal.

ISDS allow businesses foreign businesses to have the option of dealing with legal issues in courts outside the country where the dispute arises, in effect sidestepping the local courts.

Another key sticking point is intellectual property rights related to medical technology, with civil society groups in Australia wary of proposals that would restrict access to inexpensive medicine.

MORE:

http://www.smh.com.au/business/
transpacific-trade-negotiations-on-track-20120309-1upc6.html

[Oscar]

QUOTE: "The 406-page USTR report indicts a wide array of public health policies, financial regulations, politically sensitive manufacturing and agricultural policies and even religious standards as 'trade barriers' that should be dismantled." The section on Canada begins at page 63. . . . ."

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U.S. trade barrier hit list shows what's at stake for Canada in Trans-Pacific Partnership

The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has released its annual list of global trade barriers -- policies it wants changed or eliminated so U.S. firms can make more money.

< http://www.ustr.gov/sites/default/files/2013%20NTE.pdf >

Public Citizen has a very useful summary, which focuses on the 10 countries, including Canada, involved in negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. [See page 63 for Canada]

< http://citizen.typepad.com/eyesontrade/ ... eport.html >

Public Citizen has conveniently pulled out most of the Canadian examples as highlighted by Stuart Trew below.

===============================

U.S. trade barrier hit list shows what's at stake for Canada in Trans-Pacific Partnership

< http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/council ... a-trans-pa >

By Stuart Trew | April 15, 2013

U.S. trade barrier hit list shows what's at stake for Canada in Trans-Pacific Partnership

The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has released its annual list of global trade barriers -- policies in countries from Angola to Vietnam it wants changed or eliminated so U.S. firms can make more money. You can read the whole report here.

Or you can take a look at Public Citizen's very useful summary, which focuses on the 10 non-U.S. countries, including Canada, negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, right here:

< http://citizen.typepad.com/eyesontrade/ ... eport.html >

According to the government and corporate watchdog, "The 406-page USTR report indicts a wide array of public health policies, financial regulations, politically sensitive manufacturing and agricultural policies and even religious standards as 'trade barriers' that should be dismantled." The section on Canada begins at page 63. But Public Citizen has conveniently pulled out most of the Canadian examples as follows (this is all their work, I just add a few hyperlinks for further reading):

- The report conveys concerns of the U.S. pharmaceutical industry, mentioning the Notice of Intent filed last year by U.S. pharmaceutical corporation Eli Lilly, in which the company announced plans to use NAFTA's investor privileges to directly challenge Canada's entire patent policy. This investor-state attack was launched in response to Canadian courts' invalidation of a patent on an Eli Lilly medicine for which the firm had not met Canada's patentability standards. USTR also notes another recent patent invalidation -- for Pfizer's Viagra -- that has yet to produce a NAFTA investor-state case. USTR's inclusion of these cases could be intended to provide political backing for the U.S. corporate challenges to Canadian patent law, which have generated wide-spread consternation among public health officials.

- The report takes issue with Canada's policy that major foreign investments and acquisitions must be reviewed to ensure that they offer a "net benefit" to the country. This standard, according to USTR, is "overly broad." (Note: the European Union, Germany in particular, objects to European investment into Canada being screened this way and is pushing to eliminate the review process in the Canada-EU free trade negotiations.)

- USTR laments that Canadian provincial policies to control alcohol distribution "greatly hamper exports of U.S. wine and spirits to Canada." The report particularly blames "province-run liquor control boards," which enact policies closely resembling those used by U.S. state-level counterparts, such as the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.

- After describing a Canadian project to consolidate a wide array of federal government data, the report criticizes a stipulation that companies involved in the consolidation will not be permitted to move the government data outside of Canada. USTR implies that the Canadian government should not have qualms with the offshoring of a wide range of government data because doing so aligns with "today's information-based economy."

- The report blasts Canada's popular supply management program for sensitive dairy and poultry products. While the program provides support and stability to Canadian farmers, USTR explains that it "severely limits the ability of U.S. producers to increase exports to Canada…"

- USTR singles out one item as an illustrative example of U.S. "dairy products" that have been particularly impaired by Canada's import barriers: "breaded cheese sticks."

- The report disparages Canada's "compositional standards for cheese," which USTR blames for blocking U.S. "dairy" products from being sold in Canada. The primary standard that USTR cites as concerning is Canada's establishment of "a minimum for raw milk in the cheese making process."

But wait, there's more

Now if you really don't want to read the USTR report (why wouldn't you?), here are some of the remaining Canadian trade barriers it mentions. Like the above, these are certainly going to come up in the TPP, which for Canada is essentially a NAFTA renegotiation on mostly U.S. terms.

- The Canadian Wheat Board is in here despite the U.S. government winning that one with the passage of Harper's Marketing Freedom for Grain Growers Act in 2011, which abolished the single marketing desk. The USTR also mentions that Canada (Harper) eliminated a quality control measure called Kernel Visual Distinguishability (KVD) -- a simple way to sort different types of wheat by their end-use based on visual qualities which had the unintended effect of limiting U.S. grain exports because they are not visually distinct. As Scott Sinclair of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives wrote in his 2009 report Threatened Harvest:

The [Canadian Grain Commission] had announced changes to address the concern without unduly threatening Canada's exports of the highest-value bread and pasta wheats. Ignoring warnings from industry observers, government officials and legislators, the Harper government rejected the Commission initiative to modify the K V D system. Instead, it adopted the approach favoured by U.S. wheat growers and the U.S. government by terminating Canada's K V D system outright.

"While this policy change is an improvement," says this year's USTR report, "it will take years before U.S. wheat varieties are able to complete the necessary field trials to determine whether they will be registered for use in Canada." But as USTR notes, "Legislation to amend the Canada Grains Act is currently under consideration in the Canadian Parliament."

- The U.S. wants Canadians who enter the U.S. for less than 24 hours to be able to bring back $200 worth of goods on their return, just as U.S. residents can when they enter Canada for that long. Harper recently increased the limits from $50 to $200 for travel of more than 24 hours, and from $400 to $800 for travel of more than a week.

- The U.S. objects to Canada's aerospace support programs, for example which support sales of Bombardier's CSeries aircraft in the United States.

- Financial support programs for Canada's pork producers are in here.

- The Ontario Green Energy Act is too, because of local content requirements on wind and solar projects. As the USTR notes, the United States participated as a third party in the WTO dispute brought by the EU and Japan against these "buy local" conditions, which was successful late last year. The case is still at the appeal stage. Labour and environmental groups are preparing to defend the Green Energy Act should the WTO's Appellate Body uphold the earlier panel ruling that declared the local content rules illegal.

- The Canada-U.S. Government Procurement Agreement apparently didn't go far enough, says USTR, despite Canada being the one who granted much more access to its procurement market than the U.S. government did.

- Foreign ownership limits on telecommunications companies and Canadian content rules in broadcasting are both cited as barriers to U.S. exports, so expect them to come up in the TPP negotiations (as they did in the CETA negotiations).

The next round of TPP negotiations will take place in Lima, Peru in mid-May. Canadian, U.S. and Mexican groups part of the TPPxBorder campaign against the TPP have called for a week of action starting May 11. You can see what's planned and register an event or community assembly on the TPP by clicking here. You can read our shared Call to Action on that site, too.