Canada still wants US-style treatment in Central American trade deal
Embassy, July 19th, 2006
NEWS STORY
By Lee Berthiaume
Canada Still Wants U.S.-Style Treatment in Central American Trade Deal
A Canadian team travels to Guatemala to try to restart stalled trade agreement while Guatemala’s foreign minister shows up in Ottawa.
Canadian officials were in Guatemala last week to try to restart negotiations for a free trade agreement with four Central American countries that have been stalled since 2004, a spokesman for the Department of International Trade said. At the same time Guatemala’s foreign affairs minister, Jorge Briz Abularach, has come to Ottawa.
During informal meetings between Canada and representatives from Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and host Guatemala on July 10 and 11, Canadian officials discussed "outstanding issues" and relayed Canada’s desire to be treated the same as the United States was during its negotiations with the four-country bloc, spokesman Brooke Grantham said.
The United States signed an agreement - called CAFTA-DR - with the four countries, the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica last year. Canadian officials told their Central American counterparts that "the government of Canada recognizes CAFTA-DR gives U.S. exporters an edge over their Canadian competitors in these markets," Mr. Grantham said.
"For Canada it remains imperative that a free trade agreement with the Central American Four match the level of access to these markets offered to the U.S. under CAFTA for products of interest for us," Mr. Grantham said.
The Conservative government has repeatedly said that establishing stronger international trade relations, including more free trade agreements, is essential for Canada’s economy. Canada has not signed a free trade agreement in five years and observers say the country is falling behind other countries.
Trade between Canada and the four countries stood at $297 million last year, Mr. Grantham said, and the hope is to strengthen that relationship and help Canadian companies compete against companies from other countries that already have free trade agreements.
Another meeting has been scheduled for early October, though it was unclear whether that meeting would involve formal negotiations or another informal meeting.
Guatemala’s foreign affairs minister, Jorge Briz Abularach, has been in Ottawa for the past week to meet with Canadian officials and reopen the consul in Montreal.
In an interview with Embassy on Monday, the minister said that the free trade agreement had been discussed in a meeting with International Trade Minister David Emerson and would be raised in a later meeting with Foreign Minister Peter MacKay.
"We are very interested in finishing the free trade agreement with Canada," Mr. Abularach said. "I think this is the moment to do the final negotiations. I hope the union and Canada can solve these problems immediately."
The agreement already inked with the U.S. will not change how the four countries approach negotiations with Canada, he added, and an agreement with Canada is still necessary.
"Canada is a very important market," Mr. Abularach said. "We can sell many products to Canada and we can promote the investment of Canada in Guatemala. It is very important, this strategic allegiance, with Canada. There are many, many, many things we can share with Canada."
Some 150 solidarity groups from Latin America and Canada have signed an open letter urging Ottawa to lift what they say is a veil of secrecy on the Central America Four Free Trade Agreement, or CA4.
Government officials have indicated the southern countries have insisted the contents of the agreement, which the parties may resume negotiating sometime this summer, remain secret to sustain bargaining power.
Mr. Abularach said Guatemala is in favour of transparency when it comes to the negotiations and that the Central American countries are not asking for them to remain hidden.
"These documents are public," he said. "The people want to know, they can know about the documents."
He also dismissed civil society concerns that free trade agreements create social problems in developing countries, pointing to recent economic growth in Mexico and Chile as examples.
"Without the free trade agreements, imagine what would happen in Mexico, in Chile, in many countries," he said. "It’s wrong to relate free trade agreements with poverty. We hope we are going to have more work for the people, more money."
