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<html> <head> <meta name="Generator" content="Corel WordPerfect 8"> <title>MR. MARCHI - ADDRESS TO THE MID-AMERICA COMMITTEE - CHICAGO, ILLINOIS</title> </head> <body text="#000000" link="#0000ff" vlink="#551a8b" alink="#ff0000" bgcolor="#c0c0c0"> 98/17 CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY NOTES FOR AN ADDRESS BY THE HONOURABLE SERGIO MARCHI MINISTER FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE TO THE MID-AMERICA COMMITTEE CHICAGO, Illinois March 17, 1998 This document is also available on the Department's Internet site: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca I am delighted to be with you today and to address your Committee on this high holy day of Chicago -- St. Patrick's Day! This is truly an international event: The Canadian Minister for International Trade, of Italian descent, speaking to an American audience on the feast day of an Irish saint! What better proof could there be that we live in a truly global village? When I asked Chairman Miner how long he thought I should speak today, he said that if I spoke for forty minutes you would be pleased; if I spoke for thirty minutes you would be delighted, and if I kept it under twenty minutes, you would be ecstatic. So, in the interests of Canadian-American relations, I will try to be brief. Today, I would like to focus on two issues: The trade relationship between our two countries, and the leadership role all of us should play in promoting trade liberalization around the globe. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Free Trade Agreement [FTA] between Canada and the United States. By any measure, it has been an unqualified success. Since it came into effect, trade between our two countries has more than doubled. One billion dollars in trade now crosses our border every single day, making it the largest bilateral trade relationship in the world. In fact, Canada buys more from the United States than does the entire European Union. And just one province -- Ontario -- buys more from America than does all of Japan. On the other side of the ledger, 80 percent of everything we export, we export to the United States. Our two-way trade with Illinois alone exceeds US$18 billion. To put that into perspective, Canada imports more from Illinois than it does from Japan! One of the benefits of our FTA relationship has been jobs -- jobs for Americans and jobs for Canadians. Literally millions of jobs in each country now depend upon our bilateral trade. And since the NAFTA [North American Free Trade Agreement] was signed, unemployment has declined in all three countries. Of course, we don't need to look to national numbers to see the benefits of freer trade. Right here in Chicago, major Canadian companies such as Trizec-Hahn and Hollinger are making a significant contribution to the Illinois economy. And, in Canada, Chicago-based businesses like IMC Global, Amoco, Sara Lee, FMC, and Kraft Foods are finding new markets and generating significant revenues. And, we welcome more. In fact, if you'd like to send along Chris Chelios to the Toronto Maple Leafs or Michael Jordan to the Raptors, we'd be more than happy to make room on our rosters! I know the Strategic Alliance Center of our Consulate General here in Chicago, led by Consul General Poole, has made it a priority to double the number of alliances between American and Canadian firms by the new millennium. Working with organizations such as your Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and other partners in Bloomington, Rockford, and the suburbs around Chicago, I have every confidence that the Center will succeed. So, liberalized trade has been good for Canada and good for the United States. But while the success of the FTA and the NAFTA should be a source of pride -- it must not become a cause for complacency. I must pause here to express my appreciation to firms here in Chicago who have supported us in seeking a Canadian exemption from Section 110 of the Immigration Reform Act, which would create costly delays on both sides of the border. There is still tremendous potential for increased Canadian-U.S. trade, and I am here today as part of a delegation of sixty export-ready Canadian firms attending National Manufacturing Week. Many of these are smaller companies, looking to establish new commercial links with American partners. Of course, this is a two-way street. When I first met Commerce Secretary Bill Daley, last summer in Ottawa, his first visit to Canada was with a delegation of small American businesses, hoping to forge new links with Canadian companies. Likewise, on my first trade visit to the United States, last November, I led a delegation of women entrepreneurs from the SME [small and medium-sized enterprises] community to Washington, D.C. If we are to realize the full potential of our bilateral relationship, we must continue to support emerging companies, young entrepreneurs and women-led businesses. The world of trade is no longer dominated by the large multinational corporations. Small and medium-sized enterprises have proven, and will continue to prove, successful on the world stage. These are the source of most promise today, and will be the source of most jobs tomorrow. There is also tremendous potential for American and Canadian companies to join together in strategic alliances and pursue opportunities in third country markets. Combining our efforts, experience and expertise will create possibilities in those markets we would never have on our own. And, this naturally brings me to the second issue: The role Canada and the United States should play in promoting trade liberalization around the globe. Our success in liberalizing trade on this continent means that we can show the way for freer trade elsewhere in the world. As we continue to lead that effort, Canada does so from a position of renewed economic strength. Four years ago, our federal deficit stood at $42 billion -- the highest in our history, and growing. Interest rates were high, and inflation, that silent thief of our savings, was a persistent problem. Even The Wall Street Journal was writing ominous editorials about Canada being a candidate for membership in the Third World. Well, as the saying goes, that was then and this is now. Two weeks ago, we delivered a balanced budget -- our first in 30 years, and the only balanced budget of any G-8 country. Interest rates are lower than those of the United States and inflation now stands at between one and two percent. Canada is expected to lead the G-8 nations in economic growth both this year and next. And, unemployment, while still too high, is declining steadily. Our press has improved too. Businessweek refers to us as the "Maple Leaf Miracle," Time has dubbed us the "Export Superhero," and The Economist talks about Canada as a "fiscal virtuoso." We're still working on The Wall Street Journal. Having got our own fiscal house in order, Canada stands ready to compete in a world that is changing profoundly. Walls are coming down, doors are opening up, and the opportunities for economic expansion are almost unlimited. While Canada is very encouraged by this, let me just add two notes of caution. First, the support for freer trade among our citizens is far from unconditional. And, second, the move to freer trade requires an America that is outward looking. Let me just touch on each of these concerns. While over 70 percent of Canadians believe that free trade benefits our economy, this support is tempered by growing anxiety over job security and quality of life issues such as the environment and the pace of globalization. I know similar concerns exist here. If we are to maintain the momentum toward freer trade around the globe, we must do a better job of explaining its benefits to those here at home. In that effort, the voices of business leaders such as yourselves, no less than the voices of governments, must be heard. Second, the international community needs an unequivocal American commitment to liberalizing trade. Should that commitment falter, the prospect for freer trade will sustain a profound setback, from which it could take many years to recover. The dangers of losing direction at this critical juncture can hardly be overstated. It could mean losing a historic opportunity to build bridges to newly emerging regions such as Latin America. Worse still, it could lead to the emergence of isolationist trading blocs. The international trade agenda is both full and potentially divisive. Over the next few years, the World Trade Organization will address issues such as agriculture and trade in services -- issues that will task our ingenuity and test our commitment. At such a moment, American leadership is vital. And, yet, I say quite frankly that certain events have given us cause for concern. Initiatives such as the Helms-Burton legislation that isolates and divides, instead of integrating and uniting our hemisphere, cannot be seen as a blow struck in the name of freer trade and investment. And, after playing a central role in launching the Free Trade Area of the Americas [FTAA] in 1995, the United States seems to be in danger of losing leverage because of the failure to obtain fast-track authority. For our part, Canada will not allow a delay in securing fast track to slow down our own trade agenda. We will move ahead with other key trading partners in South America, the Caribbean and Central America in order to create the framework for a more open and predictable trading system in the hemisphere. We have, for example, proceeded to negotiate our own free trade agreement with Chile, and we are pursuing a trade and investment arrangement with the Mercosur countries. But it remains our hope and our belief that the United States will recognize its own interests are best served by promoting freer trade around the globe and by providing solid leadership. Nowhere do the United States and Canada have a greater role to play than in Latin America. Let no one doubt that Canada fully supports the launch of the FTAA. We are determined to see it work. I will carry this message when I travel later this evening to Costa Rica, where I will meet my counterparts from the hemisphere to review plans for the Leaders' Summit in Santiago, Chile, next month. Of course, Latin America is not the only place where Canadian-American partnership is desirable. The increasing importance of the trans-Atlantic relationship with the European Union can also benefit from a trilateral approach. Our two nations have always been most effective when we have worked together. We saw that at the APEC [Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum] Summit in Vancouver, where significant progress was made on early voluntary sectoral liberalization, in large part, thanks to the leadership of your trade represent-ative, Charlene Barshefsky. And, we will see it again by working hand in hand with the European Union to liberalize our trans-Atlantic trade. As I close, let me invite you to remember why the United States and Canada have long been strong supporters of liberalized trade. For our nations, trade has always been about more than just numbers, it has been about people. It has been about expanding their opportunities, raising their living standards, creating jobs for them, and providing them and their families with a hopeful vision for the future. In 1961, when President Kennedy addressed the Canadian Parliament, he spoke of the relationship between our two countries and asked us to "fix our attention, not on those matters that vex us as neighbours, but on the issues that face us as leaders." President Kennedy's words are no less relevant today than they were thirty-seven years ago. Let us then assume our responsibilities as leaders. Let us look outward and move beyond our own frontiers, thereby extending the benefits of the global marketplace to all of our citizens, and to the family of nations. Thank you. </body> </html>

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