MR. MARCHI - MINISTER FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE AT THE OPENING SESSION OF THE CANADA-BRAZIL BUSINESS FORUM - BRASILIA, BRAZIL
98/3 CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
NOTES FOR AN ADDRESS BY
THE HONOURABLE SERGIO MARCHI
MINISTER FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE
AT THE OPENING SESSION
OF THE CANADA-BRAZIL BUSINESS FORUM
BRASILIA, Brazil
January 15, 1998
This document is also available on the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Internet site:
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca
It is a great pleasure to be with you today in this beautiful capital city. This
is my second visit to Brasilia, and I am even more impressed by it this time
around!
While I am always delighted to visit your beautiful country, as a Canadian of
Italian descent, and as an avid soccer fan, you will understand that coming here
can be difficult. It was, after all, Brazil that defeated Italy in the 1994 World
Cup!
Later this year, the eyes of the world will be on France for the next World Cup.
In the interest of diplomacy, I won't make any predictions! But for the time
being, let's just keep our focus on trade and not on soccer and everything will
work out fine!
Today, along with the Prime Minister, provincial premiers, territorial leaders and
Canadian business leaders, I am here to reaffirm the strength of the Brazilian-Canadian relationship and to pledge our support for freer trade, not only here in
Latin America, but around the globe.
We meet today as firm friends, united by experience and by our common commitment
to the principles of freer trade. Last spring, those ties were confirmed by the
visit of President Cardoso to Canada.
During his time with us, he and Prime Minister Chrétien discussed the creation of
a framework for enhanced trade and of a Canada-Mercosur approach, and we remain
committed to that strategy.
Brazil is already our most important trading partner in South America, but we know
that there is tremendous potential still untapped.
Hopefully, following this trade mission, some of that potential will have been
realized!
Of course, impediments still exist. Tariffs remain high in a number of areas, on
both sides of the ledger. Customs procedures must be streamlined. And we are
determined to work with business leaders to identify and remove roadblocks and red
tape, and to let you in the business community get on with what you do best:
creating jobs.
As I said, trade between our two nations is significant: two-way trade totalled
more than $2.5 billion in 1996. Our exports here reached $1.3 billion that year,
double the 1992 figure.
Traditionally, our exports consisted of wheat, newsprint and potash. But
deregulation is opening up exciting new opportunities for Canadians in the fields
of telecommunications and informatics; and in energy and mining.
What began as an investment by Brascan in public works nearly 100 years ago has
developed into a mature, diverse and balanced trade relationship today.
Increasingly, our small and medium-sized businesses are discovering this region,
and their interest is reflected in their preponderant representation in this trade
mission. So it is with great optimism that we come here today and look ahead to
the prospects for tomorrow.
This past year has been a busy one on the trade front for Canada, culminating with
the APEC [Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum] meeting in Vancouver just over
a month ago. It has been a year in which hemispheric Trade Ministers agreed that
FTAA [Free Trade Area of the Americas] negotiations should be initiated at the
upcoming Santiago Summit -- a decision that holds profound implications for the
economic course of this hemisphere. And Brazil was central to achieving that
consensus.
Whether chairing the FTAA process, forging closer ties within Mercosur or
contributing to the broader vision of the Santiago Summit, Brazil has offered
strong leadership at an historic moment.
Canada welcomes that leadership, and shares Brazil's vision of a bright economic
future for this hemisphere. We have demonstrated our confidence in this region
through our commitment to the FTAA process, through our free trade agreement with
Chile, and through the development of a trade and investment co-operation
arrangement with Mercosur.
The momentum that has been created for freer trade in this region must not be
lost. That means that we must press ahead with negotiation of the FTAA, whether
the U.S. administration has fast-track authority or not.
Canada's commitment to freer trade is a product of both hope and experience. When
we entered into free trade agreements with the United States, and then Mexico in
the NAFTA [North American Free Trade Agreement], we turned a page in our history.
We moved from thinking of free trade as something to be resisted, to seeing it as
something to be embraced.
We recognized that in the world of tomorrow, success will come to those nations
that look outward, that see the whole world as their marketplace, and that
appreciate the broadened perspective that comes with new partnerships.
To be sure, the adjustment has not always been easy. And I think we have to
acknowledge very frankly the anxiety that many people feel about globalization --
in our own countries and elsewhere around the globe. We must acknowledge and
address those concerns. We must continue to demonstrate the benefits that freer
trade brings and the opportunities it offers. We must show the connection between
open markets and increased jobs. And we must prepare our people to take advantage
of those opportunities.
Based on the Canadian experience, I can say without hesitation, that free trade
has been worth it. The numbers speak for themselves: our trade with the United
States has more than doubled since 1993, and now stands at more than one billion
Canadian dollars every day! All of this has meant jobs for Canadians -- nearly one
million since 1993.
It is also interesting to note that the effectiveness of these new trading
relationships is being reflected not only in hard numbers, but also in the hearts
and minds of Canadians. Seventy percent of Canadians now support freer trade. And
support for the NAFTA in particular is up from 37 percent in 1993 to 63 percent
today.
Canadians know that free trade works. We have seen it. We are living it. And
because we have confidence that freer trade is the wave of the future, we also
understand the importance of taking the long-term view in our approach. This means
being dependable partners who know better than to pull up stakes every time
there's a blip in the markets.
I know Brazil is already realizing the benefits of trade liberalization. And your
central role in Mercosur has demonstrated your belief in the value of clear rules
and more open markets.
One of the most important new vehicles for trade liberalization is the FTAA. What
was once a distant dream is now within our grasp -- but only if we are prepared to
make the hard decisions and do the hard negotiating. It is always easier to choose
a destination than to chart a course, but chart it we must, and chart it we will.
The liberalization of trade that we seek in this hemisphere is both ambitious and
historic. The FTAA will create the world's greatest trading region. But the
benefits will extend far beyond the economic. For history teaches us that trade
leads to more openness. It breaks down the walls that divide us, and creates
common interest that unites us.
For Canada, the FTAA represents an exciting, ground-floor opportunity. Economies
in this hemisphere are growing quickly, and are undergoing the deep, structural
changes that will enable them to compete in the new global economy.
So the FTAA is a regional priority for Canada, and an integral part of our
recognition of ourselves as a country of the Americas.
As we go forward with the FTAA, we must not lose sight of the principles of the
Miami Summit: principles that reminded us that our goal in liberalizing trade is
not simply to increase national wealth, but to improve people's lives.
Because at the end of the day, we will be judged not on the grandeur of our plans,
but on whether we increased the prosperity and expanded the opportunities of our
citizens.
I expect that in the months ahead, we will face many challenges and encounter many
storms. But when those storms come, we must not run and hide under the shelter of
protectionism. We must not succumb to the voices whispering retreat or
retrenchment.
Instead, we must stick to our goals. We must continue to pursue the path to freer
trade.
Why do I stress this? Because if we let the FTAA slip away, we risk a patchwork
quilt of overlapping, even contradictory trade arrangements, cluttering the
hemisphere. Such a situation will only serve to frustrate and imperil our broader
goals.
As a country of the Americas, Canada is committed to freer trade and to the FTAA.
We see a great future in a growing region. And we see Brazil playing a key role in
maintaining the momentum for freer trade. You can be sure that Canada intends to
be a partner that invests and stays the course.
It was in 1813 that the great statesman and visionary, Simon Bolivar, wrote his
famous letter in which he described his vision of what Latin America could become.
He said, "the veil has been torn asunder. We have seen the light and it is not our
desire to be thrust back into the darkness."
Today, the veil has again been torn. We have glimpsed the kind of progress and
prosperity that awaits our two countries. We have seen the benefits that
liberalized trade can bring.
Let us resolve not to turn from our course until the full potential of this
hemisphere is realized, and all of its people share in its bounty.
Thank you.