CIIT Committee Report

 

Recommendation 1:

The Government of Canada should increase its current expenditures on trade negotiation and promotion by a full 50%. This increased spending should be allocated to:

·        Canadian trade negotiators;

·        trade commissioners;

·        new diplomatic offices in countries and regions with significant commercial potential for Canada (China, India, the Gulf States and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, to name a few);

·        international business development programs, including a revamped Program for Export Market Development (PEMD);

·        aggressive marketing and promotion of Canada and Canadian products abroad; and

·        bilateral business associations.

Recommendation 2:

The federal government should immediately undertake a review of the existing legislative restrictions that restrain Export Development Canada from having greater commercial presence in emerging markets, and remove these restrictions where feasible.

Recommendation 3:

Because many countries view close government-to-government relationships as fundamental to building closer economic ties, the Government of Canada and Canadian Parliamentarians should ensure that there are frequent focused and well-planned visits to and from priority markets. The House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade should be actively involved in these visits.

Recommendation 4:

With the goal of securing agreements that are in Canada’s best interests, the Government of Canada should complete free trade negotiations with the European Free Trade Association, the Central America Four, Singapore, and South Korea as quickly as practical.

Recommendation 5:

Recognizing that Canadian businesses have been shut out of some markets because competing countries have preferential trade agreements in place and Canada does not, the Government of Canada should determine in which countries Canadian businesses are operating at a disadvantage with respect to their major competitors, and then negotiate “defensive” free trade agreements that prevent Canada from being shut out of those markets.

Recommendation 6:

The Government of Canada should continue to consult with Canadian businesses, unions and civil society organizations active overseas, to determine where Canada’s “proactive” trade interests lie, that is, where Canada would most benefit from improving two-way market access. The Government of Canada should then aggressively pursue trade deals with countries considering those assessments. At the same time, since the reputation of Canada as a whole is affected by the activities of Canadian companies abroad, the Government of Canada should also ensure that the businesses and unions with which it consults (i.e., those active overseas) are acting in a socially responsible manner.

Recommendation 7:

The federal government should develop and start to implement comprehensive strategies on Canada’s commercial relations with China and India, including the conclusion of foreign investment protection and promotion agreements prior to the  negotiation of a bilateral free trade agreement with each country. These strategies should also include consideration for human rights; more aggressive promotion of Canada and Canadian products; and greater involvement of the Chinese and Indian diasporas in Canada.

Recommendation 8:

In future free trade negotiations, the Government of Canada should consider studying and possibly adopting the Mexican negotiating model, in which agreements are signed without necessarily resolving all sensitive issues and where Canadian interests are protected through the exclusion of certain sectors from negotiations. If Canada were to use such a negotiating model, then as the relationship grows, these concerns could be addressed in subsequent contact between the two parties. The Mexican model should not be employed in cases where Canadian businesses would be put at a disadvantage relative to their major competitors by a free trade deal.

Recommendation 9:

The Government of Canada should immediately open negotiations on Foreign Investment Protection and Promotion Agreements (FIPAs) with Indonesia, Vietnam and Colombia. It should also negotiate FIPAs with other countries, after consulting with businesses to determine where investment protection and promotion agreements would be beneficial.

Recommendation 10:

The Government of Canada should expand its network of air services agreements around the world, including with Singapore.

Recommendation 11:

Building on the progress made during its Trade and Investment Enhancement Agreement (TIEA) negotiations with the European Union (EU), the Government of Canada should negotiate a regulatory cooperation agreement with the EU that will remove non-tariff barriers facing Canadian businesses in that market.

Recommendation 12:

Recognizing the benefit from the expanded access to global markets that a successful Doha Round could secure, the Government of Canada should take a leadership role in ensuring the completion of a broad and ambitious outcome to the current World Trade Organisation negotiations.

Recommendation 13:

Canada should continuously push forward the agenda of the Security and Prosperity Partnership, thereby aggressively working towards the removal of as many obstacles to a seamless movement of goods and services across North America as possible, with greater public oversight and transparency.

Recommendation 14:

The federal government should undertake effective intellectual property enforcement to keep counterfeit and pirated products from entering Canada and from being transhipped through Canada to our trading partners.

Recommendation 15:

The Government of Canada should modernize and strengthen its infrastructure, tax, regulatory, human resources, innovation, and other domestic policies to ensure that Canadian companies are as well positioned as they possibly can be to compete in the global economy.

Recommendation 16:

The Government of Canada should take steps to ensure that federal tax rates on Canadian businesses are competitive with those of other leading industrialized nations. The setting of these tax rates should take into account the substantial competitive advantages of the Canadian health care system and other social programs.

Recommendation 17:

The federal government should take a leadership role and work in collaboration with provincial and territorial governments to establish a barrier-free internal market by the end of 2008.

Recommendation 18:

Given the increasing importance of lower-cost imports in the Canadian production of goods that are subsequently exported, the Government of Canada should study the feasibility and the consequences of unilaterally eliminating its remaining industrial tariffs.

Recommendation 19:

The federal government, as part of its next legislative review of Export Development Canada, should consider providing that agency with the authority to also finance imports that are critical to Canadian exports.

Recommendation 20:

The Government of Canada should immediately review its trade remedy system to ensure that critically valued imports, needed as inputs by companies who subsequently export products out of the country, are not unnecessarily blocked

Recommendation 21:

The federal government should immediately develop and implement clear and comprehensive strategies to (a) generate more foreign direct investment inflows and outflows and (b) strengthen international trade and investment in services.

Recommendation 22:

All of the above recommendations should be implemented taking into consideration the importance of democratic debate on issues contained in the report; the quality of life of all Canadian families and closing the prosperity gap; and the importance of working to raise social, labour and environmental standards, both in Canada and internationally with our trading partners.