OPENING DOORS TO THE WORLD
Canada's International Market Access Priorities
– 2005
This publication and additional export information are available on-line
at www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca or www.exportsource.ca.
Unless otherwise specified, monetary figures in this document are
in Canadian dollars. Merchandise trade figures appearing throughout
this document are preliminary "customs basis" figures
released by Statistics Canada, February 10, 2005. Services trade
figures are "Balance of Payments" figures released by
Statistics Canada, February 25, 2005. All investment statistics
are from Statistics Canada.
About This Document
Opening Doors to the World: Canada's International Market Access
Priorities - 2005 outlines the Government of Canada's priorities
for improving access to foreign markets for Canadian traders and
investors through a range of multilateral, regional and bilateral
initiatives in 2005. It also presents significant market-opening
results from 2004 that will benefit Canadian business. Subjects
range from Canada's broad negotiating objectives at the World Trade
Organization to the details of specific bilateral trade irritants.
The report is not intended to be an exhaustive catalogue of government
activities to improve access to foreign markets; neither is it a
comprehensive inventory of foreign barriers to trade or investment.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade coordinated
the preparation of this report with the assistance of Canadian embassies
and missions abroad, other federal government departments (especially
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Finance Canada, Industry Canada
and Natural Resources Canada), provincial governments and, of course,
Canadians doing business abroad. Its contents are current up to
end of February 2005.
Opening Doors to the World: Canada's International Market Access
Priorities - 2005 updates and expands on topics presented in the
2004 report, which was released in April 2004.
© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, as represented
by the Minister for International Trade, 2005
Catalogue number: IT1-2/2005E-HTML
ISBN: 0-662-79346-3
Table of Contents
Message from the Minister for International Trade
-
Introduction
- Getting the International Rules Right:
The World Trade Organization
- Investment
- Opening Doors to North-America
- Opening Doors to Central and South America
- Opening Doors to Europe
- Opening Doors to Asia Pacific
- Opening Doors in Other Key Markets
-
Glossary of Terms
-
List of Acronyms
Message from the Minister of International Trade
As Minister for International Trade, I am pleased to present the 2005 edition
of Opening Doors to the World: Canada's International Market Access
Priorities, which outlines Canada's market access objectives for
2005 and highlights the successes achieved during the previous year.
Canada's economic prosperity depends on its success as a trading
nation: an estimated one out of every four jobs in Canada is linked
to our international trade activities. These activities no longer
limit themselves to the traditional imports and exports of goods
and services. International Trade also encompasses investment, joint
commercial collaborations, technology partnerships and all the other
elements of global value chains, the multi-national and regional
networks of finance, production and distribution. As manufacturing
integrates across borders and trading between branches of the same
firm continues to expand, it is becoming increasingly difficult
to identify where the border of our economy actually lies. Our objective
in 2005 is to contribute to Canadian prosperity reflecting this
new complexity of the international economy while pursuing traditional
opportunities.
In 2005, our relationship with the United States will continue
to be of paramount importance. Canada and the United States have
the world's most successful commercial relationship, with almost
$2 billion in goods and services exchanged daily. But, in a dynamic
world economy, we must work continuously to build this long-standing
relationship. While securing and deepening our access to the United
States market is a constant challenge, it is also an opportunity.
Since September 2001, the movement of goods and people across the
Canada-United States border has become a particular concern for
Canadian business. In part to address these concerns, a New Partnership
was announced by the Prime Minister and President Bush in November
2004. This initiative will build on both NAFTA
and the Smart Border Accord to lay out an agenda for expanding economic
opportunities, prosperity and competitiveness in North America.
It will strike a balance between addressing security concerns and
addressing commercially important measures to facilitate cross-border
trade. On March 23, 2005, Prime Minister Martin and Presidents Bush
and Fox agreed to pursue this initiative on a trilateral basis.
Mexico also features prominently on our North American agenda.
Since the inception of NAFTA
in 1994, Mexico has become Canada's sixth largest export market
and Canada has become Mexico's second largest. To build on this
momentum, the Prime Minister and President Fox of Mexico launched
the Canada-Mexico Partnership in October 2004. This is a high level
public-private forum which will strengthen bilateral economic and
policy cooperation. Bringing together business leaders, key economic
actors and senior policy makers, the Canada-Mexico Partnership will
foster strategic networks and enable the business communities and
governments to respond to the challenges of sustaining and augmenting
the level of prosperity and competitiveness that the NAFTA
relationship has helped to build.
An important shift in the global distribution of wealth and influence
is underway beyond our continent. Countries formerly considered
to be "developing" are becoming more influential, with growing middle
classes and rising production, purchasing power, human capital and
financial strength. These are markets or regions experiencing rapid
and sustained growth, attracting the attention and investment of
multinational enterprises. China, India and Brazil are prime examples,
exercising influence in international trade negotiations proportionate
to their new strength.
These developments have significantly altered the dynamics of international
commerce, and have important implications for the competitiveness
of companies and the prosperity of nations. Canada's competitiveness
within even our most traditional markets will be increasingly influenced
by the depth and breadth of our engagement with these countries.
Engagement with these markets is not merely a question of expanding
our exports; it is about access to competitively priced inputs.
It is also about investment flows, intellectual property development
and protection, science and technology linkages, and access to distribution
networks - all critical elements of being competitive in a global
business environment. We must succeed in engaging with these partners
if we are to ensure that we remain integral to the business equation.
The year 2005 will also be a busy one on other trade policy fronts.
We will engage with emerging market countries to establish Foreign
Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements with China and India,
we will conduct exploratory talks with Korea regarding possible
free trade negotiations, and we remain committed to seeking an ambitious
outcome for the Doha Development Agenda at the World Trade Organization.
Canadian negotiators will also be involved in several bilateral
negotiations to open markets for Canadian business and to complement
broader, multilateral efforts. For example, we will continue to
pursue a comprehensive Trade and Investment Enhancement Agreement
with the European Union. This innovative pact is intended to move
beyond traditional market-access issues in the World Trade Organization.
Another example is the Canada-Japan Economic Framework on which
we will accelerate our efforts to help advance our economic relations
with this important trading partner beyond the current base.
The Government of Canada will continue to consult regularly with
all stakeholders: the provinces and territories, the business sector,
non-governmental organizations, municipalities and the Canadian
public. This dialogue is an invaluable tool used by the government
to communicate and to inform its forward agenda on a wide range
of issues.
I would encourage you to consult the department's trade negotiations
and agreements Web site at http://www.international.gc.ca/tna-nac/
for the most up-to-date information on Canada's trade policy agenda.
The Honourable James Scott Peterson, P.C., M.P.
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