Trade Perspectives | The Free Trade Conversation
It has been a fairly quiet couple of weeks for people sharing their perspective on "Free Trade". There is lots of noise in the global conversation around trade however much of it is political in nature and our aim is to provide you with the "fly on the wall" updates to conversations that directly impact the activity and requirements for trade as it affects your businesses. You can count on these updates to leave the generalized political conversation for other sources - staying focused on perspectives that impact you and your business directly is how we ensure we provide the most possible value into your inbox.
Here are the updates from current conversations for your review: According to Jeff Berman who is Group News Editor for Logistics Management, Modern Materials Handling, and Supply Chain Management Review, these are strong data points to keep in mind:
- NAFTA eases trade among 450 million people in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, with NAFTA trade more than quadrupling in 20 years and, in turn, boosting the economies of each country.
- And according to U.S. Chamber of Commerce data, nearly 14 million U.S. jobs depend on trade with Canada and Mexico, coupled with separate data from the Peterson Institute stating that NAFTA makes the U.S. $127 billion richer each year.
Within 36 hours of the Trudeau-Trump speeches, France's 20 Minutes reported that the European Parliament had adopted CETA. This finally gives Canada access to a thriving field to recover what it might need to concede within NAFTA. CETA will remove 99% of Canada's customs tariffs in the European Union, increasing the latter's trade by 25%. Robin Speer, executive director of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association. Tyler Marr / Meridian Booster Sound economic policy is key to ensuring competitiveness and market access for the agriculture sector, according to Robin Speer, executive director of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association.
6 Best Practices To Maximize NAFTA Trade Benefits
Speaking to attendees in the Dick Jones Sales Pavilion Wednesday as a keynote speaker as part of Agri-visions taking place at the Lloyd Exhibition Grounds, Speer spoke on the increasing commodities being grown in Western Canada every year, and what needed to be done to ensure we can get the "Grain on the Train."
"Transportation and trade are two key issues. They are heavily regulated issues that affect the bottom line and profitability of farming and economic growth," Speer said.
"We want market access and we want competition and advanced infrastructure, and transportation to get our goods to market."
With this, Speer touched on a number of key trade deals and pieces of legislation which were all resting high on the minds of producers in Canada.
With the approval of CETA (Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement) in Europe on Wednesday, and at home in Ottawa Tuesday night, Speer explained the "good news to the tune of hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars a year" in reduced tariffs for canola and livestock growers shipping their product to European markets. Steve Lamar is executive vice president of the American Apparel & Footwear Association.
Regardless of what policy choices this administration works out with Congress, policy makers should take pain to remind themselves that trade - or more precisely access to global suppliers and global customers - remains important to our economy, our society, and our way of life.
As always we look forward to and appreciate your feedback, questions and comments! For those of you who are doing compliance in-house or have an interest in furthering your compliance knowledge, our in-house or on-demand seminar series on U.S. Trade Compliance and Canadian Trade Compliance are a great way to understand the movement, compliance and regulations around goods imported into both the USA and Canada. For details and to register »
U.S., Canada And Mexico Sign A Revised NAFTA 2.0
