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Canada’s International Trade Minister Ed Fast speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa June 20, 2012.
PHOTO: REUTERS/CHRIS WATTIE
OTTAWA — Canada’s pending free trade deal with the European Union has been front-page news this week with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in town — and the government says things are moving full-steam ahead.
But such optimism isn’t par for the course for all of Canada’s other trade talks.
Aside from the EU, Canadian negotiators are currently working on nine free trade agreements.
This includes discussions with the 15-member Caribbean Community; the Dominican Republic; a bloc of three Central American nations; India; Japan; South Korea; Morocco; Singapore; and Ukraine.
The Conservative government has repeatedly boasted about its free trade agenda and its importance to creating jobs and economic growth.
And to its credit, it has finished six free trade deals since coming to power, including one with four smaller European nations (Iceland, Switzerland, Norway and Liechtenstein).
But a closer look at the list of negotiations underway shows a trend.
First, a number of the talks are essentially stalled, with little progress having been made in years.
These include with the Dominican Republic, the three Central American countries (Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador); South Korea and Singapore.
The government is hoping the resolution of Canada’s dispute with South Korea over beef earlier this year will restart those discussions, but automobiles remain a huge issue.
There is no light at the end of the tunnel for the other three negotiations.
Meanwhile, talks with CARICOM and India are moving slower than anticipated.
Canadian negotiators were in Barbados for a fourth round of talks last month, but it appears no progress has been made on resolving a key issue that has become the focus — and main stumbling block.
The Caribbean nations want Canada to include some type of provision that will see this country help the region become more economically competitive — a position the Conservative government firmly rejects.
As for India, there is an overriding sense within industry circles that Canada is not a top free trade priority for the Asian nation.
The Conservatives promised in their election platform last year to finish negotiations by the end of 2013. (A round of talks was held in July.)
There’s still plenty of time and if the Canada-EU deal can be hammered out, more attention and resources will be directed towards an India pact.
But if it’s true that there isn’t much interest from the other side, that will become quickly evident.
As for Japan, Morocco and Ukraine, the situation is mixed.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Japanese counterpart only announced the launch of negotiations in March, so it’s still too early to provide an assessment.
The same holds true for the Canada’s involvement in the multilateral Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Discussions with Morocco seem to be gathering steam, with two three rounds already completed after a slow start. The most recent round was held in March June, with a fourth round expected in October.
The Ukraine talks were also up in the air at one point, with a briefing note for Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver saying in May 2011 that “Ukraine’s commitment to these talks is currently unclear.”
Part of that was because of a change in government in Ukraine a couple of years ago,
Since then, however, several rounds of discussions have taken place, most recently in April — a positive sign for the government.
And International Trade Minister Ed Fast has been leading a cross-country tour this week aimed at helping the government “refresh” its pro-trade plan.
It will be interesting to see how many respondents urge the government to finish what it started.
Read more Articles from Lee Berthiaum
