Free-trade talks with China: Proceed with caution
[ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion ... e35192536/ ]
CHARLES BURTON Special to The Globe and Mail Jun. 05, 2017 12:00 AM EDT
Charles Burton is an associate professor of political science at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario and is a former Counsellor at the Canadian Embassy in Beijing
June 2 marked the end of the 90-day period that federal officials allocated for public input into Canada’s potential free-trade negotiations with China. But the so-called “consultation” bore little resemblance to the process that Ottawa uses when it is serious about getting feedback on policy.
People who are called to make presentations to parliamentary committees have their airfare, hotels and meals paid, and a transcript of the hearing is immediately made publicly available.
In this case, officials will simply issue a summary report that likely supports the government in moving from the current “exploratory talks” to binding negotiation of a Canada-China free-trade agreement.
At any rate, Ottawa’s approach to negotiating free trade with China is already known – it’s on the government’s Canada-China free-trade consultations website. For example, in the FAQs, the question that concerns most Canadians (“Will Canada address human rights concerns in China through an FTA?”) gets a boilerplate response: “The promotion and protection of human rights is an integral part … in our long-standing relationship with China.” Fair to say we can take that as a “no.” On the contrary, Chinese authorities make it crystal clear that unless Canada commits to ceasing to “interfere in our internal affairs” there will be no lucrative trade deal.
The hard truth is that Beijing doesn’t really need a free-trade agreement with Canada. China already has excellent access to Canadian markets because of our low tariffs, our fair and transparent business regulations and our impartial rule of law to adjudicate contract disputes. Canada, of course, has nowhere near a level playing field in China, where many sectors are closed to Canadian goods, services and investment. Whether a free-trade agreement with China will shrink our current 3:1 trade deficit is very much an open question.
The prospect of strengthening Canada's comprehensive engagement with China, including economic and trade activity, is certainly alluring, especially given the erratic state of our relations with the Trump regime. But don’t expect free-trade talks to enrich our business with China if the process only forces Canada to bow to Beijing-imposed conditions on other important aspects of the economic relationship.
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[ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion ... e35192536/ ]
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Think tank leads corporate-funded campaign to sway Canadians on Chinese trade
[ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/po ... e35406698/ ]
By ROBERT FIFE and STEVEN CHASE Globe and Mail Update June 21, 2017
Nearly nine in 10 Canadians are 'uncomfortable' with the idea of China gaining more access to Canada's economy
An Ottawa-based think tank, with ties to corporate Canada and the federal government, is spearheading a campaign to persuade Canadians to embrace a free-trade deal with China.
As Canada's negotiators ready for a third round of exploratory trade talks with China, the Public Policy Forum (PPF) is embarking on a two-year effort, bankrolled by major corporations, to change Canadians' minds about bilateral trade with the world's second-biggest economy.
Public-opinion surveys, conducted in April by Nanos Research for The Globe and Mail, found nearly nine in 10 Canadians are "uncomfortable" with the idea of China's large, government-controlled businesses gaining more access to Canada's economy – an almost inevitable aspect of any free-trade deal. The poll also found that 66 per cent of respondents want Ottawa to link human rights to trade talks.
The first quarterly meeting of the PPF'S Consultative Forum on China takes place in Ottawa on Wednesday and includes executives doing business with China, leading profree-trade advocates from academia as well as the head of the Canada China Business Council. Ian Shugart, deputy minister of Foreign Affairs, will address the gathering.
Two high-ranking federal civil servants sit on the board of the PPF, an organization that advocates policies to promote good governance.
The conference is closed to the media. Edward Greenspon, a former editor-in-chief of The Globe, was in a "flurry of meetings" and unable to comment, according to spokesman Carl Neustaedter.
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[ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/po ... e35406698/ ]
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Third round of Canada-China FTA exploratory talks start in July
[ https://canadians.org/blog/third-round- ... start-july ]
July 5, 2017 - 8:21 am
(PHOTO: The Council of Canadians protested in front of the Prime Minister's Office during the second round of exploratory talks this past April.)
The Trudeau government continues to pursue a Canada-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) despite public concerns.
The Canadian Press reports, "A third round of exploratory trade talks is scheduled to start this month and [China's Ambassador to Canada Lu Shaye] hopes formal negotiations will follow at an 'early date', Lu said. However, the spokesman for International Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said the government is still waiting on the results of its public consultations with Canadians. If the exploratory talks lead the government to conclude that formal negotiations should take place, Ottawa might launch another round of consultations, said spokesman Joseph Pickerill."
The article adds, "The Trudeau government has been proactive in trying to develop closer ties with China and in pursuing a bilateral trade deal. However, a full-fledged trade pact is likely years away. Ottawa has said human rights and labour standards will be part of any trade agreement with China. China, however, doesn't think issues like human rights and democracy belong in an economic deal."
The Trudeau government's limited public consultation on a Canada-China free trade agreement ended on June 2.
On June 5, Charles Burton, a former counsellor at the Canadian embassy in Beijing, wrote, "The so-called 'consultation' bore little resemblance to the process that Ottawa uses when it is serious about getting feedback on policy. People who are called to make presentations to parliamentary committees have their airfare, hotels and meals paid, and a transcript of the hearing is immediately made publicly available. In this case, officials will simply issue a summary report that likely supports the government in moving from the current 'exploratory talks' to binding negotiation of a Canada-China free-trade agreement."
Earlier this year, Burton commented, "Opinion polls indicate most Canadians do not want further political-economic integration with China, but elements of Canada’s business elite, with lucrative connections to Chinese business networks, are lobbying the Prime Minister’s Office hard to push on."
The Council of Canadians opposes a Canada-China FTA and sees it as detrimental to people and the environment in both Canada and China.
Further reading:
Trudeau pursues 'free trade' with China, with implications for pipelines, Indigenous rights & water protection (September 2016)
[ https://canadians.org/blog/trudeau-purs ... protection ]
Brent Patterson's blog
Political Director of the Council of Canadians
[ https://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]
Will a Canada-China Free Trade Agreement mean cargo ships in the Northwest Passage?
[ https://canadians.org/blog/will-canada- ... st-passage ]
September 11, 2017 - 12:08 pm
With 90 per cent of China's goods exported by ship, a Trudeau cabinet decision expected in October on pursuing a Canada-China Free Trade Agreement, climate change melting northern waters, and the Chinese icebreaker Xue Long, or Snow Dragon, recently completing a voyage through the Northwest Passage, it is worthwhile thinking about the impact of cargo ship traffic in the Arctic, notably the risks of oil spills and ship emissions on Indigenous peoples, the ocean and marine life.
The Globe and Mail reports, "China's official government news agency says Beijing used a scientific icebreaker voyage through Canada's Northwest Passage to test the viability of sailing Chinese cargo ships through the environmentally fragile route that links the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Xinhua News Agency, often used to deliver messages on behalf of the Chinese state, lauded the Sept. 6 completion of the first-ever Chinese voyage through the Arctic waterway, saying the Snow Dragon icebreaker 'accumulated a wealth of experience for Chinese ships going through the Northwest Passage in the future'."
The article highlights Xinhua reporting, "From Shanghai to New York, the traditional route that passes through the Panama Canal is 10,500 nautical miles, while the route that passes through the Northwest Passage is 8,600 nautical miles, which saves 7 days of time."
The article also quotes University of Calgary Professor Rob Huebert who says, "[The Chinese] are preparing for a very substantial increase in the amount of shipping. It is obvious this is going into the planning to a degree that we don't see in Western shipping companies. They have given us clear notice this is going to happen."
As far back as March 2010, University of British Columbia Professor Michael Byers commented, "China's major interest concerns the shipping routes being opened by the melting sea-ice. Different routes will be used depending on origins and destinations: Liquefied natural gas from the Barents Sea will be sent to Shanghai through Russia's Northern Sea Route; luxury German cars will go straight 'over the top'; and Chinese goods headed for the eastern US will use the Northwest Passage."
And in September 2014, The Financial Post reported, "A newly released report, commissioned by the Alberta government last year, by Arctic petroleum consultants Canatec Associates International Ltd. ... suggests that getting oil-sands bitumen to the Far North port of Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T., could be a cheap, efficient and effective way to get Alberta’s landlocked bitumen to oil-hungry Asia." One related proposal is the 100,000 barrel-per-day 'Arctic Gateway' pipeline, a 2,400 kilometres long pipeline from the tar sands of northern Alberta through the Mackenzie Valley to the port of Tuktoyaktuk on the Arctic Ocean.
As for 'free trade' deals, the National Post recently reported, "While all eyes are on NAFTA, Canada is trying to move quickly on trade in the Asia-Pacific, with decisions on a China free trade agreement and an updated Trans-Pacific Partnership coming this fall."
With respect to the Canada-China FTA, the newspaper notes, "According to a Canadian government official familiar with the matter, formal exploratory talks with China wrapped up in July. Officials are crunching numbers and are expected provide analysis to trade minister François-Philippe Champagne before the end of the month. Cabinet could be discussing a decision by October, and Champagne could be on his way to China in December if there’s a green light, the official said. ...Experts concur talks would likely take multiple years to complete, probably past the next federal election in October 2019."
And with the TPP, the article notes, "A Trans-Pacific Partnership sans Trump is shaping up in earnest, spearheaded by Japan and Canada. Officials are expecting a road map for an agreement will come alongside an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November. The expectation is this would take months, not years, said the official."
We will continue to monitor this situation.
Brent Patterson's blog
Political Director of the Council of Canadians
[ https://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]
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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.
MORE:
[ https://ipolitics.ca/2017/11/12/federal ... ade-china/ ]
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Trudeau government set to launch Canada-China Free Trade Agreement talks in December
[ https://canadians.org/blog/trudeau-gove ... s-december ]
November 18, 2017 - 4:53 pm
The Trudeau government appears to be on the verge of beginning 'free trade' talks with the Chinese government.
The National Post reports, "Justin Trudeau is expected to announce he is heading to Beijing early next month to launch free trade talks with China. The trip has not been finalized but diplomatic sources suggest he will head east in the first week of December."
This is in keeping with what we have previously read.
On September 6, the National Post reported, "According to a Canadian government official familiar with the matter, formal exploratory talks with China wrapped up in July. Officials are crunching numbers and are expected provide analysis to trade minister François-Philippe Champagne before the end of the month. Cabinet could be discussing a decision by October, and Champagne could be on his way to China in December if there’s a green light, the official said. Experts concur talks would likely take multiple years to complete, probably past the next federal election in October 2019."
Earlier this year, Charles Burton, a former counsellor at the Canadian embassy in Beijing, commented, "Opinion polls indicate most Canadians do not want further political-economic integration with China, but elements of Canada’s business elite, with lucrative connections to Chinese business networks, are lobbying the Prime Minister’s Office hard to push on."
The Canada-China Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA) was ratified in September 2014 by the Harper Conservatives with the support of the Trudeau Liberals. That agreement was opposed by the Hupacasath First Nation that sees the deal as a violation of Indigenous rights.
As a net importer of Chinese investment, especially in energy and resources, investment protection provisions pose a real threat to the public interest. The existing investment pact with China notably allows Chinese energy companies to threaten the federal, provincial or territorial governments against imposing environmental rules on tar sands production, pipeline construction and other projects.
It should also be highlighted that on January 15, 2016, The Globe and Mail reported, "China wants to forge a historic free-trade deal with Canada, but a senior Chinese official said this will require Canadian concessions on investment restrictions and a commitment to build an energy pipeline to the coast."
Less than a year later, on November 29, 2016, the Trudeau government announced its approval of the 890,000 barrel per day Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain tar sands pipeline to the British Columbia coast.
The Council of Canadians opposes a Canada-China FTA and sees it as detrimental to people and the environment in both Canada and China.
Brent Patterson's blog
Political Director of the Council of Canadians
[ https://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]