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<html> <head> <meta name="Generator" content="Corel WordPerfect 8"> <title>MR. MARCHI - ADDRESS AT A NATIONAL PRESS CLUB NEWSMAKER BREAKFASTON THE OCCASION OF THE RELEASE OFTHE REPORT:'OPENING DOORS TO THE WORLD: CANADA'S INTERNATIONAL MARKET ACCESS PRIORITIES - 1998' - OTTAWA, ONTARIO</title> </head> <body text="#000000" link="#0000ff" vlink="#551a8b" alink="#ff0000" bgcolor="#c0c0c0"> 98/29 CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY NOTES FOR AN ADDRESS BY THE HONOURABLE SERGIO MARCHI MINISTER FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE AT A NATIONAL PRESS CLUB NEWSMAKER BREAKFAST ON THE OCCASION OF THE RELEASE OF THE REPORT: "OPENING DOORS TO THE WORLD: CANADA'S INTERNATIONAL MARKET ACCESS PRIORITIES -- 1998" OTTAWA, Ontario April 15, 1998 This document is also available on the Department's Internet site: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca Actually, it's nice just to be home again. Over the past few months I have been to Chicago, China, Costa Rica, Chile, Mexico, Brazil, England, Korea and Argentina -- just to mention a few destinations! My suitcase has more stickers than Lucien Bouchard has party memberships! This morning I want to focus for a few moments on a new report which the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade is releasing today, called Opening Doors to the World: Canada's International Market Access Priorities -- 1998. Of course, opening doors is what the Team Canada trade missions have been all about. They have opened doors for hundreds of small and medium-sized companies that never would have tried these markets on their own. The missions have also opened doors for creative alliances between Canadian companies large and small. By combining their strengths, these firms have discovered that they can compete successfully in international markets. And the Team Canada concept has opened a new door in federal-provincial partnership. In fact, someone said that the last Team Canada mission was "the best 10 days of the year" in federal-provincial relations. I can tell you that when foreign countries see the Prime Minister and premiers working side by side with Canadian companies, the association confers on those companies a credibility and a standing that they might have taken years to develop on their own. That point has been made to me by business after business. The Team Canada missions have done something else as well; they've presented the new face of Canada to the world. In country after country, city after city, we have been able to showcase our strengths in the new, knowledge-based economy. We have been able to demonstrate our world-leading technology in areas such as telecommunications, mining and environment. Nations that may have thought of us as only a resource-based economy now have a different perspective. And by changing how they see us, we are also changing how they trade with us. In short, Team Canada has been one of the most successful initiatives in the history of our trade promotion policies. While it can always be improved and refined, the bottom line is that no other country is doing what we're doing, or doing it as well. Why this emphasis on trade promotion? Because one job out of every three in Canada depends on our ability to trade abroad, and 40 percent of our GDP [gross domestic product] is directly related to trade. This is a very significant proportion. In fact, Canada is more dependent on trade than any other G-7 [Group of Seven] nation. Increased trade and investment abroad means jobs and growth here at home. In fact, we estimate that for every $1 billion of new exports, about 8 000 jobs are created for Canadians. But if trade is our lifeblood, access is its arteries. If we are to continue to grow, if we are to continue to provide jobs for the present and expand our economy for the future, we must continue to knock down the barriers to freer trade around the world. Because impressive as trade liberalization has been in recent years, there is still a long way to go. The world may indeed be a global village but, from a trade perspective, there are still neighbourhoods we cannot enter, streets we cannot travel and stores where we cannot sell our goods. That's why, as Trade Minister, cutting the red tape and removing the barriers are among my highest priorities. After all, it is a simple fact of the marketplace that we can't sell if we can't get in. Our trade policy must work hard to pave the way for our trade promotion. And that's what today's report is all about. The report, Opening Doors to the World, looks back at the success we enjoyed in liberalizing trade last year, and ahead to what still needs to be done. Last year, for example, we were one of 70 countries that successfully concluded negotiations on a financial services agreement at the World Trade Organization (WTO). The agreement will give Canadian financial institutions better access to key markets in Europe, Asia and Latin America. And, of course, last November in Vancouver, the 18 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) agreed to pursue a program of voluntary liberalization in 15 different sectors, covering over $1 trillion in trade. Looking ahead, the report outlines our objectives at the WTO and APEC, as well as with key partners such as the United States. It also sets our objectives in one of the most promising and exciting initiatives this year: the start of negotiations on a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). Canada will chair the negotiations for the first 18 months. The report shows the direction our trade policy is taking and the priorities we attach to various markets. You will see that Canada has focussed on some of the fastest-growing areas in the world: markets such as Latin America, Asia Pacific and Europe. We want to be where the action is, where the greatest opportunities lie. Not surprisingly, Canada has been at the forefront of trade liberalization around the world. Whether it was free trade agreements with Israel and Chile, supporting the WTO, or opening doors in China and Latin America through Team Canada missions, Canada has demonstrated its commitment to liberalizing trade around the globe. As I said, Canada has been a strong supporter of the WTO because we believe that access to world markets depends on a fair and open international trading system. As a relatively small nation heavily dependent on trade, we understand the importance of effective trade rules to ensure that might does not equal right when it comes to trade disputes. Canada's trade strategy is straightforward: open doors to new markets and then promote our businesses within those new markets. And doors that we have opened, we will keep open -- by resolving problems with our trade partners and taking action as necessary to ensure they honour their commitments. We will do all we can to help Canadian businesses begin exporting or expand their base into new markets. Our Trade Commissioners, in more than 100 offices around the world, will continue to help match Canadian firms with international opportunities. Here at home, my department stands ready to provide one-stop shopping for Canadian businesses looking to expand into new markets. I am proud of this report and of the progress it represents. But I am prouder still of the individual Canadians who are taking the risks, winning the contracts and making their mark in the international marketplace. As a nation, we have established our ability to compete in the global economy. We have proven ourselves to be adept traders at a time when the world is moving progressively toward freer trade. This bodes well for our future prosperity. But there is nothing automatic, nothing inevitable about either Canada's continued success or the world's steady march toward liberalization. Freer trade may be an idea whose time has come, but it is not an idea whose success is assured. We must continue to support the institutions that seek a rules-based system of trade. If we do all of these things, if we can rise to these challenges, Canada's future looks very bright indeed. Thank you. </body> </html>

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