
Français		Home		Contact Us		Help		Search		canada.gc.ca		Canada International

Home > Media Room

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada

Canadian Offices Abroad

Services for Canadian Travellers

Services for Business

Canada in the World

About the Department

SPEECHES

2007 - 2006 - 2005 - 2004 - 2003 - 2002 - 2001 - 2000 - 1999 - 1998 - 1997 - 1996

Print friendly version - Printing Tips

<html> <head> <meta name="Generator" content="Corel WordPerfect 8"> <title>MR. MARCHI - ADDRESS TO THE APEC SME WEEKBUSINESS FORUM LUNCHEON - OTTAWA, ONTARIO</title> </head> <body text="#000000" link="#0000ff" vlink="#551a8b" alink="#ff0000" bgcolor="#c0c0c0"> 97/34 CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY NOTES FOR AN ADDRESS BY THE HONOURABLE SERGIO MARCHI MINISTER FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE TO THE APEC SME WEEK BUSINESS FORUM LUNCHEON OTTAWA, Ontario September 18, 1997 This document is also available on the Department's Internet site: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca It's great to be with you today and to welcome so many visitors to Canada. Over the past few years, Canadians have been warmly received by a number of APEC [Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum] members, so it is appropriate that we are able to return that hospitality today. I hope you enjoy your time with us. Yesterday, you heard from Industry Minister John Manley. It's never easy to follow John -- or as he's better known in Cabinet: Al Gore with an attitude. I mean, just look at this picture from yesterday's Citizen -- how can you compete with that? You know, I kid John, but he is doing a marvellous job as Industry Minister and I know his remarks yesterday were very well received. We are delighted to host this week's event, which is, I believe, the largest in APEC's history. As you know, 1997 is the year of Asia Pacific here in Canada, so it is fitting that we should save the "best for last" with this important event. One of the strengths of APEC is its partnership with the private sector. No other major trade body has an equivalent of our Business Advisory Council and no other trade body places such a premium on consultations with the private sector. APEC understood from the outset that no one knows the impediments to trade or to the free flow of goods and services better than the people on the ground. You are the ones dealing with bureaucracies. You are the ones struggling to obtain information and access to capital. You are the ones who are pounding the pavement, trying to get a foot in the door. So it only makes sense to enlist your experience and expertise as we try to expand the benefits of freer trade in Asia Pacific and around the globe. Governments have learned a great deal from this partnership. One of the things we have learned is the importance of developing personal relationships in business dealings. Fax to fax will never replace face to face and that's why events like this are so important. Not only can you meet with other business people, you can also meet with ministers and other government officials. I know that the Government of Canada welcomes this opportunity to exchange ideas because we need to hear directly from you about the barriers and challenges you face. That is also why, at every APEC event held in Canada this year, there have been opportunities for the private sector to set the agenda and meet with ministers. APEC is important to Canada, not only because of the strong ties we have to Asia Pacific, but also because we recognize the potential of that region to a trading nation like ours. More than any other G-7 country, Canada's economic health depends on trade. One out of every three jobs is tied to trade and 40 per cent of our GDP [gross domestic product] is generated by our exports. Canada's experience with freer trade has been an extremely positive one. Through agreements like the NAFTA [North American Free Trade Agreement] and freer trade with Israel and Chile, Canadians have been encouraged to see the whole world as our marketplace. As barriers have fallen down and markets opened up, Canadians have embraced these opportunities, transforming Canada into what Time Magazine has called "an exporting superhero." As a result, our trade surplus has risen from $6 billion to over $30 billion in just four years. Our trade with the United States alone now amounts to more than $1 billion per day! And, should anyone doubt the connection between trade and economic performance, they need look no further than the fact that Canada is expected to have the highest growth rate and the best job creation record in the G-7 over the next year. The simple facts are that freer trade has opened doors, created jobs and increased competitiveness. It has helped to re-shape the business culture. It has promoted greater economies of scale and improved product quality. It has encouraged us to pursue other markets around the globe. And it has demonstrated the benefits of freer trade to others around the world. To be sure, the adjustments have sometimes been difficult, but Canada has emerged stronger, richer and more confident as a result. We know now that our products and services can compete with the best in the world. It should not be surprising, then, that we would be such strong supporters of liberalizing trade around the world. We were delighted that APEC ministers were able to agree in Montreal to identify sectors for early liberalization. This is not an easy task, and our goal in November will be to present a list to leaders for consideration. One of the things that we will also be looking at in November is how APEC can lend its support to the ongoing work of the World Trade Organization. Some areas, like the financial services negotiations, may need a bit of a push if they are to be brought to completion. This is one of the great strengths of APEC -- by creating consensus on issues, we can advance them on the world stage. Look at the momentum we were able to generate in the area of information technology last year -- momentum that led to an important agreement at the World Trade Organization. We know, however, that if we are to fully realize the benefits of liberalized trade, APEC members must continue to work at creating the conditions that will allow our private sectors to do what they do best: create jobs and promote growth. In Montreal, we took an important step in that direction by launching a new database that gives SMEs [small and medium-sized enterprises] immediate access to tariff rates in different APEC economies. But of course, freer trade is about more than just tariffs. We also need to make standards more comparable and we need to make customs more streamlined. Technology already exists that can link customs authorities and reduce clearance times from weeks to minutes. This saves not only time, but money, and I am hopeful that the blueprint put in place this year will speed up customs clearance right across the APEC region. Throughout this week, you will be looking at some of the other impediments to trade. Access to information and to capital remain major stumbling blocks, especially for SMEs. Let me just share with you some of the things we are doing here in Canada to try to remedy these problems. One of the gaps identified for us by SMEs was in the area of financing and insuring smaller transactions. To fill this gap, our Export Development Corporation, Canada's official credit agency, teamed up with the Bank of Montreal to form Northstar Trade Finance, a company created to help small businesses export. Since then, another of our major banks, the Royal Bank, has joined the team. This exciting partnership means that SMEs now have access to financing on the same terms as their larger competitors. And to date, 30 per cent of Northstar's financing has gone to SMEs pursuing opportunities in Asia. Just yesterday, we launched another exciting project called ExportSource. This is a new Internet site that contains all the information SMEs could want on exporting. No more running from department to department -- just a click of a button, seven days a week, 24 hours a day -- because we believe that it's better to get information on-line from government, than to wait in line for government. As I close, I am reminded of a story that is told by that great Irish poet, Frank O'Connor. O'Connor writes how, as a boy, when he and his friends would make their way through the countryside and come across an orchard wall that seemed too high to climb, they would take off their caps and throw them over the wall -- and then they would have to follow them. We have thrown our caps over the wall of freer trade and now we must follow them. As we move forward with liberalizing trade -- in APEC and elsewhere -- we will face other walls. But I am confident that we can overcome any obstacle and defy any difficulty, if we work together. So let us climb those walls together, confident that we will emerge stronger, freer and more prosperous on the other side. Thank you. </body> </html>

2007 - 2006 - 2005 - 2004 - 2003 - 2002 - 2001 - 2000 - 1999 - 1998 - 1997 - 1996

Print friendly version - Printing Tips



Last Updated: 2006-10-30	Top of Page	Important Notices