Federal report fuels concerns about free trade with China
[ https://ipolitics.ca/2017/11/12/federal ... ade-china/ ]
By Canadian Press. Published on Nov 12, 2017 3:20 pm
A sweeping federal report shows that Canadian businesses aren’t sure a free trade pact will solve all the concerns they have about dealing with China.
The newly released report summarizes the issues that more than 600 businesses, academics and civil society groups believed must be resolved before Canada signs a free trade deal with China.
Among those concerns was that further liberalizing trade could kill Canadian businesses and jobs as companies can’t compete because of lax labour standards, lower environmental requirements, and state subsidies in China, the report says.
These Canadian groups were adamant that failing to address these issues would only further the hollowing out of the Canadian manufacturing sector.
There was skepticism that a free trade deal could “meaningfully address the full spectrum of challenges faced by Canadian businesses trading with China,” the report said.
Stakeholders said any trade pact needed a robust dispute resolution mechanism to ease concerns about the Chinese government’s “willingness or ability” to adhere to obligations under any future agreement.
China is the world’s second-largest economy, and already a top trading country for Canada.
Widening that trade relationship has been the subject of exploratory talks this year, which the government describes as a way to “test the waters” to see if there is enough common ground to launch full-fledged negotiations.
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