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It's Your Turn
Current Consultations
Consultations on Services Trade Negotiations
Online Questionnaire for Canadian Businesses
Research and Development Services
Background Information:
The Research and Development sector is highly export-oriented and competitive in the international market place, and is recognized as playing a crucial role in the 21st century economy. In 2001, Canada's total exports in R&D; services were 3.2 billion dollars, and our total imports were 1.4 billion dollars.
The Research and Development sector in Canada is extremely diverse and covers all activities related to the systematic investigation through experiment or analysis to achieve a scientific or commercial advance for, or through, the creation of new or significantly improved products or processes. R&D; activity in Canada is concentrated in Central Canada where economic activity is greatest. Over the past decades, R&D; services have made an increasingly significant and positive contribution to Canada's balance of payments in commercial services. Definition of Sector in the GATS
The classification system that is used in the GATS by most WTO members divides research and development services into three categories:
- R&D; on natural sciences and engineering;
- R&D; on social sciences and humanities;
- Interdisciplinary research and experimental development.
What We Heard in Previous Consultations:
Priority Markets:
Interest has been expressed by stakeholders that Canada target specific countries or groupings of countries which either maintain limitations or have not made commitments. Specific countries that were identified include the following:
| First Tier: |
United States, Japan, European Union |
| Second Tier: |
India, Latin America, Singapore, Mexico |
| Third Tier: |
Russia, Taiwan, Senegal, Thailand, Middle East |
Market Access Barriers:
Typical trade barriers raised in previous consultations include:
State and local "buy America" provisions, which restrict the ability of Canadian firms to supply R&D; services in particular, to state and local authorities; Difficulty in securing local recognition of qualifications for high qualified personnel (i.e.: for engineers & scientists); The ability of Canadian-based technical workers to freely travel to other countries to service equipment sold there or to transfer R&D; results; Discriminatory subsidies in export markets; Less favorable treatment than other forms of business organization when involved in a franchise abroad; Security considerations -- Canadian goods or services that contain US-supplied components may be restricted by US export controls, even if the service or component is not itself classified or restricted; and Intellectual property -- some Canadian firms are concerned because they have found themselves put under pressure, as part of a normal commercial transaction, to provide the purchasing country with underlying technical information.
Go directly to the Questionnaire.
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