Dear International Trade and Investment Committee Members,
Here are the international trade and investment articles and publications of interest for the week of October 6 to October 12. Andrew Lanouette has curated this week’s edition. Andrew is International Trade Counsel at Cassidy Levy Kent in Ottawa, practising in the areas of international trade law and public procurement. He is also the Co-Chair of the International Trade and Investment Committee.
News
- International trade agreements frequently have a rather long genesis. The Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), released last week, is no exception.
- The Canada-South Korea free-trade agreement, which took effect on Sept. 22, is set to help Canadian companies boost sales to the East Asian country’s 50 million citizens, many of whom have plenty of disposable income.
- Canada is bracing for a dispute with Germany over whether its newly-agreed free trade pact with the European Union should be re-opened to erase arbitration clauses.
- World Trade Organization chief Roberto Azevedo says efforts to salvage last year’s global trade deal will inevitably founder, leaving the institution adrift after nearly 20 years of failed deal-making.
- The head of the powerful World Trade Organization says countries around the planet, including Canada, are missing out on the benefits of a stalled global deal to boost international trade.
- The director of the influential World Trade Organization says nations around the planet are keeping a close eye on how Canada and the European Union overcome the stumbling blocks of their ambitious trade agreement.
- If you wanted to convince the public that international trade agreements are a way to let multinational companies get rich at the expense of ordinary people, this is what you would do: give foreign firms a special right to apply to a secretive tribunal of highly paid corporate lawyers for compensation whenever a government passes a law to, say, discourage smoking, protect the environment or prevent a nuclear catastrophe. Yet that is precisely what thousands of trade and investment treaties over the past half century have done, through a process known as “investor-state dispute settlement”, or ISDS.
Government Announcements/Press Releases
- The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) wishes to advise of an update to the Departmental Consolidation of the Customs Tariff.
- The Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade, today met with Roberto Azevêdo, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
- During the meeting, Minister Fast reiterated Canada’s disappointment with the failure to implement the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), as agreed at the WTO’s Ninth Ministerial Conference. As a result, hard-working Canadians, stakeholders and businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), are being prevented from accessing the tremendous economic growth, jobs and opportunities that would have been generated by the successful implementation of the agreement.
- I want to extend a very warm welcome to everyone. It's great to be back in Toronto so soon after the historic Canada-EU summit.
- Today I want to continue to build on our trade momentum. I want to share our government's vision for how we can support our businesses —particularly small and medium-sized enterprises [SMEs]—as they leverage new trade opportunities to deliver economic prosperity for all Canadians.
Commentary
- Last week, the European Commissioner-designate for Trade, a Swedish politician called Cecilia Malmstr̦m, was called for a pre-appointment hearing with MEPs. In previous years, it might have passed without controversy, but this time the would-be Commissioner faced a furious tumult of questions. The reason? TTIP Рthe transatlantic trade and investment partnership Рthe most talked-about trade deal in a generation.
Upcoming Events of Interest
- As part of its "Getting Started" series, ASIL's New Professionals Interest Group is pleased to host a special event on how to pursue an international law career in the areas of customs, domestic trade remedies, and international trade more broadly. These fields continue to grow both in the public and private sectors. Finding the appropriate avenue to enter this field of practice, however, can be difficult. Panelists at this event will share their perspectives as experienced professionals with diverse backgrounds. The moderator will pose questions to highlight professional development advice.