Dear International Trade and Investment Committee Members,
Here are the international trade and investment articles and publications of interest for the week of February 3 to February 9. This week’s edition has been curated by Alexandra Logvin. Alexandra is an associate at Fasken Martineau in Ottawa.
Top News
- At the first meeting of WTO ambassadors after the 9th Ministerial Conference, Director-General Roberto Azevêdo told the Trade Negotiations Committee on 6 February that: “Bali represents not just a huge achievement for all of us—but also a huge opportunity”.
- The Government of Finland has announced it will donate €5 million to the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) Multi-donor Trust Fund to support EIF activities in least-developed countries (LDCs) for the period 2014-2015.
- Chairman of the ICSID Administrative Council Dr. Jim Yong Kim rejected the Argentine Republic’s Proposal to Disqualify Professor Pierre Tercier and Professor Albert Jan van den Berg.
Other News of Note
- German exports unexpectedly fell on the month in December after four consecutive monthly gains, a sign that the brightening global outlook does not yet mean Europe's largest economy can rely on foreign demand to power growth.
- Canada got a painful lesson in American politics Friday as one of its major economic priorities was neglected on the messy floor of the legislative sausage-factory that is the U.S. Congress. Hopes that a long-awaited farm bill might address a multibillion-dollar hit to Canadian livestock producers were officially extinguished, as President Barack Obama attended a ceremony in Michigan where he signed it into law.
- Canada’s trade deficit in December jumped to the highest level since November 2012, $1.66 billion, almost $1 billion more than expected, with imports hitting a record level despite a drop in import volumes.
- Japan, Asia’s second-largest wheat buyer, will increase imports from the U.S. after shipments from Canada arrived late for a second month.
- The Obama administration would like to negotiate separate free-trade agreements with some Pacific trading partners and with the European Union. The prospects of sufficient support on Capitol Hill for the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership are being weakened by European demands to include financial regulation in its partnership.
- Canada’s much-ballyhooed push to expand its export markets has focused attention on developing nations — in particular increased investments in South and Central America.
- Canada’s investment industry is closely monitoring China’s economic growth trajectory because of the impact a slowdown would have on commodities markets.
- Corruption continues to be a challenge for Europe. Affecting all EU Member States, corruption costs the European economy around 120 billion euros per year. Member States have taken many initiatives in recent years, but the results are uneven and more should be done to prevent and punish corruption. These are some of the conclusions from the first ever EU Anti-Corruption Report published today by the European Commission.
- Ben Stewart, B.C.’s trade and investment commissioner to Asia, says he is quickly learning the importance of his new job.
- When Prime Minister Stephen Harper arrives in Mexico later this month, he'll be met by an undercurrent of resentment from a continental neighbour that feels spurned by Canada. It extends to lingering dissatisfaction over the lack of progress to move the economic relationship beyond the North American Free Trade Agreement, the 20th anniversary of which Canada and Mexico happily celebrated last week, along with 70 years of bilateral relations.
Government Announcements/Press Releases
- The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, through the Department of Commerce, announced today that total December exports of $191.3 billion and imports of $230.0 billion resulted in a goods and services deficit of $38.7 billion, up from $34.6 billion in November, revised.
- The Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade, today announced the appointment of Benoit Daignault of Ottawa, Ontario, as president and chief executive officer of Export Development Canada (EDC). Mr. Daignault will hold the position of president and CEO for five years.
- Hon. Ed Fast: The agreement will generate substantial gains across all key economic sectors, including the agriculture and agri-food sector. In fact, Canada will be one of the only developed countries to have preferential access to the world’s two largest markets: the European Union and the United States.
- The Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade, today announced the start of the first round of negotiations to expand and modernize the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement (CIFTA). The negotiations are being held in Israel from February 3 to 9, 2014.