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<html> <head> <meta name="Generator" content="Corel WordPerfect 8"> <title>MR. EGGLETON - ADDRESS ON THE OCCASION OFTHE APEC MINISTERIAL MEETING - MONTREAL, QUEBEC</title> </head> <body text="#000000" link="#0000ff" vlink="#551a8b" alink="#ff0000" bgcolor="#c0c0c0"> 97/24 CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY NOTES FOR AN ADDRESS BY THE HONOURABLE ART EGGLETON MINISTER FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE ON THE OCCASION OF THE APEC MINISTERIAL MEETING MONTREAL, Quebec May 9, 1997 This document is also available on the Department's Internet site: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca Welcome ladies and gentlemen. In 1904, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Canada's first Liberal Prime Minister, made a speech, which included the most celebrated aphorism of our times: "The 19th century was the century of the United States," he said. "I think we can claim that it is Canada that shall fill the 20th century." The phrase became shortened to, "The 20th century belongs to Canada." Those six words have been hotly debated ever since, reaching across the decades as a test of our national achievement and a statement of our national purpose. As the century draws to a close, I believe that history has proven Mr. Laurier to be right. On the eve of the 21st century, Canadians can lay claim to the highest quality of life in the world, according to the UN. And ours has been not only a material success, but a spiritual one. We have built a society that is compassionate towards the poor, the sick and the disadvantaged. And we have managed this while protecting our national treasures, whether they be the unparalleled beauty of our natural parks or the gifted contributions of our artists and story-tellers. There are some who choose instead to minimize Canada's achievements and magnify its differences. They say Mr. Laurier was wrong. But whether or not the 20th century belonged to Canada, it was undeniably true that Canada belonged to the 20th century. And now, I am about to make a statement equally as bold, and equally as optimistic, as Wilfrid Laurier's. It is this: The 21st century belongs to Canada in the Pacific. Let this prediction also stand as a test of our achievement and a statement of our purpose. I propose today both a vision and a challenge for Canada to realize in the few short years remaining before the 21st century is upon us. My vision is to see Canada realize its full potential as a participant in the burgeoning economies of the Asia Pacific. The challenge I set, both for my department and the private sector, is to make that vision a reality. This is a timely challenge, as 1997 marks Canada's Year of Asia Pacific and our turn to chair the 18-member APEC [Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum] group of economies. For one full year, the eyes of the Asia Pacific are on Canada. More than 100 Asia Pacific government leaders and ministers -- many of which are with us tonight -- and hundreds of business people will visit Canada this year, to discuss issues ranging from market access to sustainable development. This provides us with a unique opportunity to place Canada on the horizon of Asia Pacific business leaders. And this opportunity, to build new bridges across the Pacific and to reinforce existing ones, is of strategic importance for Canada's long-term economic security. But I also intend for Canada's Year of Asia Pacific to pay off in the short term, with immediate prospects for trade and investment that will contribute to jobs and economic growth in Canada. It is important that we pursue these prospects now, not years from now, because by then it may be too late. The pace of growth and change in Asia is occurring on a scale that is highly impressive. The region already accounts for 40 per cent of the world's trade and will soon account for one third of global production. The growth of its gross domestic product [GDP], which has already been twice as fast as any other region, is expected to triple the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD] average. By the year 2020, seven of the top ten economies in the world will be in the region. This generation could see the economy of China grow to be 40 per cent larger than that of the United States. Of the other G-7 Western industrialized countries, only France and Germany are forecast to remain in the top 10, in sixth and ninth place, respectively. By the year 2020, the other leading economies of the world will be Japan, India, Indonesia, Korea, Thailand and Chinese Taipei. The Asia Pacific will be more than a trading zone. It will be a real centre of power, a force in international affairs and a model of economic development. We simply cannot ignore this evolution, nor can we fail to become a part of it. In most cases, these economies will have developed from agrarian, to industrial, to information economies, all in the space of 30 years. These economic miracles are being paced by changes in society and demographics. Within 10 years, the Asia Pacific will be home to nearly two thirds of the world's population, most of them less than 25 years old and members of a middle class that will have doubled in size. With the highest savings rate in the world Asia will be a leading source of consumer demand and investment capital. Already in Indonesia -- which is the fourth most populated country in the world -- the middle class is as large as the entire population of Canada. India's middle class is as large as the population of the United States. By the turn of the century, at least 400 million people will have personal incomes at, or higher than, the OECD average. Meanwhile, Canada's large enterprises help with the Asia Pacific's most pressing need -- its need for electrical power and added infrastructure. The requirement for infrastructure investment is calculated to be $200 billion a year for the next 10 years, or $2 trillion in total. This need matches Canada's world-class capabilities in the areas of energy, transportation and communications. The countries of the Asia Pacific are paying greater attention to environmental protection and clean-up. There is a potential market of $24 billion a year, which again matches Canada's proven track record in environmental management. And the need to train and educate an increasingly sophisticated workforce already represents $1.5 billion a year. The numbers are staggering, but what do they mean for Canada? They mean an opportunity not to be missed. They mean a challenge for our exporters and entrepreneurs to establish an on-the-ground presence in Asian markets. And they mean our eyes in the future must be trained across the Pacific. The Government of Canada is committed to an agenda for jobs and growth, and this agenda has been driven forward by our success at world trade. And our trading success, in turn, has increasingly relied on our small and medium-sized enterprises being flexible and quick to identify niche markets. We can succeed in the Asia Pacific market, because we must, and we have faith that our small and medium-sized enterprises will lead the way. Traditionally, Canada's exports to Asia have been agricultural and resource products. But the experience of last year, when the dollar value of our exports to the region declined by 11 per cent -- largely because of falling commodity prices -- emphasizes the danger of complacency. We need to diversify our exports to include markets of opportunity. Small and medium-sized enterprises would be well advised to build an export strategy around the middle class boom, which is likely to see increased demand for processed food products, leisure goods, cultural industries, educational services and overseas vacations, to name a few. That cannot happen unless these enterprises enter the Asia Pacific market. The Government of Canada is prepared to assist, whether in the larger picture of improving market access, or in the details, or through the information and advocacy of our trade commissioners. But none of these efforts can replace the active participation of Canadian enterprises on the ground. Frankly, our record in this regard could be better. There are some 60 000 small and medium-sized enterprises in Canada, yet only 5 000 export on a regular basis. And there are only 600 Canadian firms with a presence in Asia, a tiny fraction of the total. That is why I have set a goal of doubling the number of active exporters in three years. It's not just my priority. It's our government's first priority. Increasing trade is a key plank in our government's Job Strategy. Every $1 billion in exports creates and sustains 11 000 jobs in this country. Simply put, more trade means more jobs. I believe the government can work effectively with business, as a partner, to open up new markets. We have seen how effective the Prime Minister's Team Canada trade missions have been -- over $22 billion in sales and thousands of jobs since 1994. Opportunities exist in Asia, but they outweigh the opportunity-seekers. I call today on Canadians to change all that. The cost of doing business in the region is high, but so are the rewards. And the cost of not doing business is even higher. The region is becoming more familiar, as our links through trade and people increase. In the early 1980s, less than one sixth of air passengers in Canada travelled to or from the Asia Pacific; that level doubled within a decade. Similarly, one third of Canadian immigrants in the early 1980s came from the Asia Pacific; a decade later, the Asia Pacific provided more than half of all new arrivals. There are now more than two million Canadians of Asian heritage, a pool of human capital that can help us gain an advantage in the region, while conveying Canada's multicultural and open nature to our Asian friends. It is no coincidence that British Columbia, with its Pacific seaboard and high concentration of Asian immigrants, accounts for 40 per cent of all exports to the Asia Pacific. For our friends in the region, we have the opportunity, we have the capability and we have the people. And we also have a strategy to bring them together, which I am pleased to outline for you today. In the short term, my priorities are clear. I will be doing everything I can to promote new undertakings, particularly those arising from the APEC conferences. And I will be consolidating the gains made by the Team Canada trade mission to Korea, the Philippines and Thailand earlier this year, which resulted in the announcement of $2 billion worth of business agreements. I am pleased to chair the APEC trade ministers' meeting here in Montreal -- the first in a series of ministerials that will take place across the country. My agenda is an open one -- I want to begin development of a substantial package to liberalize and facilitate market access in preparation for the APEC leaders' conference in Vancouver in November. The special needs of small and medium-sized businesses are a priority for APEC, whether they come in financing information, networking or other forms of assistance. Small and medium-sized enterprises will also be the focus of an APEC ministers' meeting in Ottawa this fall, when ministers will examine ways to improve market access and information. As I mentioned earlier, other blue-ribbon conferences of government ministers will be held across the country this year. The Toronto conference will deal with the integration of environmental, social and economic concerns. In Victoria, we will discuss transportation issues, and in Edmonton, dealing with energy needs. At each of these conferences, there will be opportunities for Canadian firms to showcase their talents and to network with business people from Asia Pacific. We cannot take decisions about the future shape of the region in a vacuum. In the end, our success in creating sustainable growth and equitable growth will be judged not by trade figures alone, but by the condition in which we leave the world to future generations of leaders. Of greatest importance to our long-term security is the vitality of the APEC process itself, which offers our best promise of keeping in touch with key decision makers, of providing linkages with the Asian economies, of being able to influence the directions of policies and programs, and of establishing Canada as an Asia Pacific nation. APEC is the most dynamic forum in the Asia Pacific region dedicated to furthering the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment. At the same time, its actions fully support the development of the multilateral rules-based system of the World Trade Organization [WTO]. More and more, work in APEC is seen to complement, and even lead, work in the WTO. Our priorities for APEC this year include a sharp focus on deepening our commitments to trade liberalization, particularly in working together to identify new sectors for improved access. We will also emphasize the critical importance of trade facilitation. Harmonized customs procedures, consistent product standards, user-friendly procurement guidelines, and improvements to business travel and investment transparency are all within the scope of the APEC talks. And they will all result in greater predictability and lower costs for Canadians and for everyone doing business in the Pacific Rim. The Asia Pacific has proven to be Canada's fastest-growing trading partner, with annual increases in trade and investment of about 11 per cent for the past decade. But we cannot afford to be self-satisfied. The region will continue to be of considerable importance to Canadian agricultural and resource producers, but an over-reliance on commodities will leave us at risk of missing out on other opportunities. We need to move into the value-added, manufactured goods and services markets, and to perform there at a world-class level. In the long term, my department is committed to building a durable bridge across the Pacific, through the development of APEC and through a vigorous program of bilateral trade and assistance to exporters. But right now -- today -- we can begin to target markets of opportunity and to promote the Canadian advantage to the markets of the region. We must advance on both fronts. The question is no longer whether the Pacific Century will belong to us, but whether we will belong to the Pacific Century. If we fail to reach across oceans and cultures, then the loss will be entirely ours. But if we succeed -- as I am certain we will -- then the gains will be for us and our Asia Pacific friends together. Thank you. </body> </html>

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