Dear International Trade and Investment Committee Members,
Here are the international trade and investment articles and publications of interest for the week of September 15 to September 21. Golsa Ghamari has curated this week’s edition. Golsa is a member of the International Trade and Investment Committee. She is a sole practitioner in Ottawa, advising businesses on their international operations and providing them with litigation support and strategy. She is also an associate at Grey, Clark, Shih and Associates, Ltd, assisting with matters before the CITT and Federal Court.
News
- Ukraine's parliament ratified an agreement to deepen economic and political ties with the European Union on Tuesday, and passed legislation to grant autonomy to the rebellious east as part of a peace deal.
- The ratification vote, draws a line under the issue that last year sparked Ukraine's crisis, which resulted in the ousting of the president, the annexation of Crimea by Russia and a war with the Russia-backed separatists that has killed more than 3,000 people.
- Canada and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding this on September 18 to tighten collaboration on energy.
- The heads of both countries’ energy departments met in Ottawa for two days of talks, the first time the Head of the U.S. Department of Energy has visited Canada since Obama took office.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday slammed sanctions placed on Moscow by Western countries as a unilateral breach of the rules and principles of the World Trade Organization.
- "The sanctions introduced against Russia is nothing else but a denial of the basic principles of the WTO. The idea of the equal access to the goods and services markets is breached," Mr. Putin said at a meeting of the state council—the advisory board which includes local governors, businessmen and government ministers.
- Colombia’s trade with the world has been growing at record levels but continues to show a deficit, according to government statistics agency DANE.
- In July, monthly imports to Colombia reached the highest level in over 6 years.
- Efforts to kickstart the World Trade Organization (WTO) talks on implementing the Bali package suffered a serious setback this week as sharp differences persisted between India and the developed world on how to move forward in agriculture negotiations.
- At an informal Agriculture Committee meeting at the WTO headquarters in Geneva on Tuesday, the US and European Union strongly opposed India’s stance that members should arrive at a permanent solution to the public stockholding for food security in developing countries by December-end so that it can be implemented along with the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), which the west is keen on.
- India and the US are working on a compromise formula on food subsidies to remove a major irritant in the stalled World Trade Organisation (WTO) deal ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with President Barack Obama in Washington later this month.
- Top government sources told HT that India and US were working to revise the terms of the so-called trade facilitation agreement (TFA) for easier, faster and cheaper trade by making systems transparent and cutting red tape ahead of the Modi-Obama summit.
Government Press Releases
- Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird issued further economic sanctions and travel bans against four Russian individuals, and economic sanctions against five Russian entities and one financial institution.
- “The sanctions imposed in coordination with our other allies are without a doubt having an effect on the Russian economy. Canada stands prepared to move farther with our allies and partners to hold the Putin regime accountable.”
- The Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade, called on Canadian businesses to seize the opportunities that more trade and investment with emerging markets in Africa offers. In his address to Canadian and African businesses, non-governmental organizations and African government representatives during the Canada-Africa Business Summit in Toronto, Minister Fast pointed to the long-standing trade, investment, development, education and cultural ties between Canada and African countries that continue to foster economic success.
- The Canadian International Trade Tribunal (the Tribunal) determined that there is a reasonable indication that the dumping of oil country tubular goods from Chinese Taipei, the Republic of India, the Republic of Indonesia, the Republic of the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, the Kingdom of Thailand, the Republic of Turkey, Ukraine and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and the subsidizing of the above-mentioned goods from the Republic of India, the Republic of Indonesia, the Republic of the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, the Kingdom of Thailand, the Republic of Turkey, Ukraine and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, have caused injury or are threatening to cause injury to the domestic industry.
- The Tribunal’s inquiry was conducted pursuant to the Special Import Measures Act as a result of the initiation of dumping and subsidizing investigations by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). The CBSA will continue its investigations and, by October 20, 2014, will issue preliminary determinations.
Commentary and Editorials
- The Canadian ship owners and their crews say Ottawa negotiated a lopsided trade deal with Europe that could eventually put thousands of jobs at risk.
- Under the free-trade agreement, key pieces of the highly protected Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River shipping business will be opened up to foreign competition for the first time, with no reciprocal access to the European market.
- The state visit to Canada by President Park Geun-hye on September 20-22 inaugurates a major new chapter in Canada’s 50 year relationship with South Korea, headlined by the signature of the Canada-Korea free-trade agreement completed earlier this year.
- While the CKFTA’s direct economic benefits will be significant, and properly celebrated by both governments, its indirect impact should not be overlooked, politically re-energizing interest and activity in other areas of relations and underpinning a stronger strategic partnership between two of the world’s important second-tier powers.