Peterson Announces Roundtables on Emerging Markets and Trade Mission to Brazil

October 13, 2004

Minister of International Trade Jim Peterson asked a Canadian business audience today to work with him to develop regional and sectoral strategies that can take advantage of opportunities in emerging markets around the world. The Minister was speaking to the 2004 Asia-Pacific Summit in Vancouver, B.C.

The Minister announced a series of roundtable consultations with Canadian businesses, academia, civil society, provinces and other interested stakeholders to gather insights into the opportunities, risks and hurdles that businesses face in emerging markets, and to ensure a coordinated approach.

Minister Peterson also said that business and government have to work in tandem—with businesses responsible for making sure their strategic plans reflect the opportunities that abound in emerging markets, and government providing the necessary framework and tools to open doors and limit risks.

"We need a discussion on priorities. We need to identify the right approaches on a sectoral and company basis. We have to better identify and then create the tools you need to seize opportunities and to address the challenges you face," stated the Minister.

"Resources are finite, and we have to make choices," the Minister added. "We need to know whether the services we currently provide to support business are the ones you most need in building your own business strategies in today's complex environment."

During the speech, Minister Peterson also announced that he would lead a trade mission to Brazil from November 21 to 25 to expand Canadian trade and investment in the region. Brazil is one of the world's fastest-growing markets, and Canada-Brazil trade is close to $3 billion annually. Brazil is currently Canada's 15th-largest trading partner.

This month's Speech from the Throne listed trade and investment as one of the five pillars of the Canadian economy. Canada has unique leverage, as part of the North American trading bloc, both to further strengthen its relationship with the United States, which currently receives in the order of 80 percent of all Canadian exports, and to take advantage of the tremendous trade and investment opportunities in emerging markets like Brazil, India and China. Other countries around the world, such as the United States, Japan and Australia, are moving swiftly to take advantage of these markets, while Canada to date has not been as aggressive.

"The opportunities in emerging markets are very real," Minister Peterson said. "I have no doubt that together, we will meet this challenge."