La Presse Canadienne | 12 June 2012

This is a free translation by Anoosha Boralessa (April 2015). Not reviewed or revised by bilaterals.org or any other organization or person

Transpacific Partnership: Canadian participation has been approved

Ross Marowits, Montreal

The US Chamber of Commerce is in favor of Canada entering into the negotiations for the Transpacific Partnership for a free trade agreement with lucrative Asian markets. So declared the powerful pressure group.

US Chamber of Commerce’s president and CEO, Thomas Donohue, indicated that his group of companies strongly supported Canada’s participation. He added that the United States joined by its Northern neighbor could contribute to global economic growth and to promoting stability.

“The Transpacific Partnership represents the best occasion” he said.

The United States and eight other countries – Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Peru, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei – are currently seeking to conclude a free trade agreement.

Canada, Japan and Mexico have been trying for months to obtain authorization from the White House to take part in the negotiations.

The Canadian Minister for Natural Resources, Joe Oliver, welcomes the support given by the US Chamber of Commerce:

“it is a useful and positive development” he declared to some journalists on Monday after speaking at the Montreal Conference organized by the International Economic Forum for the Americas.

He added:

“we see this occasion as important and in line with our strategic objective which consists of diversifying our market.”

Canada has already undertaken negotiations with European nations and is pursuing bilateral talks with several countries focused on increasing free trade with Asia, where Canada is seeking to diversify its market, added the minister.

As the G20 summit (which will be held in Mexico this month) draws near, questions on a Transpacific Partnership are becoming increasingly urgent due to the vague responses given by the Obama Administration. It is a question that keeps recurring in exchanges between the representatives for the Canadian government in Washington and their US counterparts.

During the Montreal Conference, M Donohue declared that Americans tended not to be overly bothered with the Canadians partly because they view their neighbors as like-minded. However, he added that it was crucial to continue to consolidate the most important trade relation in the world in order to create wealth and jobs.

He added that probably few Americans know that Canada represents the main non-domestic source of oil for the United States and that every day goods worth $1.6 billion cross the border.