||
THE ABCS OF TPP
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/what-is-tpp-understanding-the-new-pacific-tradedeal/article26648948/
Trade ministers from a dozen Pacific nations
are shown in Atlanta on Oct. 1, 2015.
HANDOUT/REUTERS
Canada and 11 other countries struck a deal to create a
free-trade area spanning from Chile to Japan. Here’s a primer on what it is and
how Canadian industries could be affected
BILL
CURRY
Ottawa The Globe and Mail Last updated: Jan. 25, 2016
11:23AM EST
WHAT IS IT?
The Trans-Pacific Partnership would create a
free-trade zone among 12 nations around the Pacific, making it the world’s
largest. The countries within its scope account for 40 per cent of the world’s
economic output.
Last November, the U.S. and New Zealandgovernments released versions of the
full text of the agreement. On Jan. 25, Canada’s
Liberal government confirmed that it would sign the deal, though it still needs to be
ratified by a majority vote in the House of Commons before being
officially introduced.
Is the TPP a fair, balanced deal for Canada?
A QUICK LOOK AT THE
NUMBERS
12 – Countries involved
in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. Ratification would create the
largest trade zone in the world, spanning four continents and 800 million
people.
$28.5-trillion – The combined gross domestic product of the 12 trade-pact
countries which, it is estimated, collectively produce 40 per cent of the
world’s economic output.
45 – Per cent of a
vehicle’s content that must come from Canada to avoid import tariffs, a change
from the North American free-trade agreement (NAFTA), which established that
62.5 per cent of a vehicle’s content must be local.
$4.3-billion – Subsidy the government has promised over 15 years to protect
current dairy, chicken and egg farm revenues. TPP countries get duty-free
access to 3.25 per cent of Canada’s dairy market and 2.1 per cent of its
poultry market.
$158.6-billion – Average annual value of Canada’s exports of metals and
minerals to TPP countries from 2012 to 2014, according to numbers provided by
the federal government. The sector includes petroleum products, potash,
precious metals, iron, steel, aluminum and nickel.
51 – Total number of
countries, if TPP is ratified, with which Canada will have free-trade
agreements, which account for roughly 60 per cent of the global economy,
according to data released by the federal government.
– Michael Snider
The 12 nations in the Trans-Pacific Partnership are: Australia
Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore,
the United States and Vietnam
TRISH
MCALASTER/THE GLOBE AND MAIL
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE TPP
1) TPP is the
new NAFTA
Canada and Mexico have long enjoyed privileged
access to the United States, the country with the biggest economy in the world.
That special status will be diluted under the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Instead of a group of three, 12 countries
would share in the perks of TPP membership. At a high level, TPP is similar to
NAFTA in that it involves pledges to reduce or eliminate tariffs on a wide
range of goods and services. It also sets out rules for resolving disputes. One
of the biggest differences will be felt by the highly integrated North American
auto sector. Current NAFTA rules require that 62.5 per cent of auto parts come
from North America. Under the TPP, autos manufactured in Canada must meet a new
standard that 45 per cent of the cost be based on parts made within the TPP.
Canada called this a victory that would allow for more exports, but Unifor, the
union representing Canada’s auto workers, condemned the deal as “outrageous”
and warned that it will kill jobs.
Monday’s deal may not be the end of NAFTA,
however. The TPP deal still requires the approval of the U.S. Congress, and
senior Democrats and Republicans expressed strong reservations in response to
the details. Canada’s Trade Minister, Ed Fast, said that Canada’s support is
contingent on a positive vote for the deal in Parliament following the Oct. 19
federal election.
2) Labour rules
Unlike Canada’s recent trade deals with the
European Union and South Korea, the TPP is not limited to highly developed
nations. Critics of the deal say the inclusion of countries such as Peru and
Vietnam will see well-paying jobs exported to low-wage economies where workers
have less protection from exploitation. Canadian officials countered that the
deal includes strong and enforceable rules banning child labour and entrenching
the rights of workers in member countries to unionize.
The TPP also reduces hurdles for employees to
work temporarily at affiliate offices of their employer in other member
countries. This measure is aimed at easing business travel. Officially known as
intracompany transfers, these arrangements have attracted controversy at times
in the context of the Canadian debate over temporary foreign workers. The chief
executive officer of Royal Bank of Canada apologized in 2013 after a
controversy emerged involving the outsourcing of information technology work
that involved intracompany transfer visas.
3) Dispute-resolution provisions
Free-trade deals, including NAFTA, have
provisions for resolving disagreements between states. They also include
investor-state provision that allow private companies to contest government
decisions. For instance, Canada was required to pay forestry firm
AbitibiBowater Inc. $130-million in 2010 after the company won a NAFTA Chapter
11 challenge against Newfoundland and Labrador’s decision to expropriate
its assets.
The investor-state provisions of Canada’s
Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the European Union was
one of the main sources of controversy against the deal from within the EU.
Canadian officials said Monday, Oct. 05 that the dispute-resolution provisions
in the TPP are similar to those that are in CETA and NAFTA.
Will Canadian consumers benefit?
Canadian consumers can expect to see lower
prices over time for one of their biggest purchases: vehicles. The current
6.1-per-cent tariff on passenger vehicles from Japan will be phased out
completely over five years. The new lower content threshold for auto parts
should also reduce costs. The elimination of a wide range of tariffs should
lead to more choice and lower prices for consumer goods.
Will Canadian exporters benefit?
Canadian companies will gain a competitive
advantage over their rivals from non-TPP countries who will still face the
existing tariffs. This is particularly important given the improved access
Canadian firms will have to the Japanese market, which ranks third in the world
in terms of gross domestic product behind the United States and China.
China was not invited to join the TPP
negotiations and the deal is widely viewed as a challenge to China’s growing
economic influence in the Asia Pacific region.
– Bill Curry
in Ottawa
HOW MUCH TRADE HAVE WE DONE WITH THOSE COUNTRIES IN THE PAST?
WHAT CANADA SACRIFICES
AND WHAT IT GAINS
Alcohol
Bottles of Canadian whisky will be well-aged
by the time producers cash in on the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Malaysia will
take up to 15 years before dropping its whisky tariffs. Vietnam will drop its
55-per-cent duties within 12 years. These are the types of details that make up
the trade agreement, as varying timelines and tariffs apply to different
products and countries.
Canadians are known abroad for their ice wine
and Canadian whisky and both products will have fewer barriers to entering TPP
nations under the deal. Australia and New Zealand will drop duties on Canadian
wine right away, while Japan will follow suit within seven years.
Autos
Canada’s concessions on auto imports quickly
came under fire Monday as the TPP deal was announced. Canada will allow
vehicles to enter the country from Japan duty free within five years, yet the
United States negotiated a 25-year timeline before erasing
similar tariffs.
The privileged access of Canada’s auto parts
manufacturers to the North American market will also be diluted under the deal.
Current rules under the North American free-trade agreement (NAFTA) require
that 62.5 per cent of auto parts come from North America in order to avoid
tariffs. Under the TPP, autos manufactured in Canada must meet a new standard that
45 per cent of the cost be based on parts made within the TPP.
The Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’
Association issued a short statement Monday saying it is “concerned to learn of
a significant differentiation in the negotiated tariff transitions achieved by
Canada and the United States.”
Agriculture
Canada expects the TPP will be good for a
large number of agricultural sectors as new export markets open up, thanks to
the elimination or reduction of tariffs. The timeline varies by country and
by product.
Access to the large Japanese market is a key
prize for TPP members. Once the deal comes into force, Japan will immediately
end tariffs on 32 per cent of its agricultural imports, while other tariffs
would be reduced or eliminated over the next 20 years. Australia, Malaysia and
New Zealand will eliminate more than 90 per cent of their agricultural tariffs
immediately once the deal is in place.
Canola and processed food and beverages were
highlighted by Canadian officials as export sectors that should benefit under
the deal.
Beef and pork
Canadian beef and pork producers are among the
big winners under the TPP deal. From 2012 to 2014, Canadian producers exported
$2.6-billion worth of pork and $1.3-billion worth of beef to TPP markets,
though much of that was to Canada’s NAFTA partners. Within 10 years, Japan is
promising to eliminate its tariffs on a wide range of pork products, while the
current 50-per-cent tariffs on beef will be reduced to 9 per cent within 15
years. Vietnam will move more quickly, eliminating tariffs of up to 31 per cent
on fresh and frozen beef within two years.
Provincial farm
ministers take on TPP for putting squeeze on dairy
Dairy
Canadian dairy farmers marched with their cows
and tractors on Parliament Hill last week, urging the Conservative government
not to surrender Canada’s system of supply management during the closed-door
TPP talks. Other TPP members, including New Zealand, had made clear they wanted
major dairy concessions from Canada.
When the deal was announced Monday, Ottawa
said it would pay $4.3-billion over 15 years to dairy, chicken and egg farmers
affected by the TPP or Canada’s free-trade deal with the European Union. The
supply management system was not abandoned, but Canada would give TPP members
duty-free access to 3.25 per cent of its dairy market and 2.1 per cent of its
poultry market.
The Dairy Farmers of Canada responded
favourably to the deal.
“We obviously would have preferred that no
additional market access be conceded in the dairy sector,” Dairy Farmers
president Wally Smith said in a statement. “However, we recognize that our
government fought hard against other countries’ demands. … We have come a long
way from the threat of eliminating supply management.”
Fisheries
Canadian officials highlighted the potential
for gains in seafood exports under the TPP deal. Background documents highlight
the fact that Japan has traditionally been known “for its high per-capital
consumption of fish and seafood.” Japan has committed to eliminating 66 per
cent of its fish and seafood tariffs once the deal is in place.
Snow crab, lobster, shrimp, salmon, scallops,
halibut, mussels, tuna and oysters are also listed as Canadian seafood products
that will gain easier access to TPP markets.
Forestry
Free trade and forestry hasn’t always gone
smoothly for Canada. The dispute-resolution clauses of NAFTA were invoked in
the past to sort out differences between Canada and the United States over
softwood lumber.
The Forest Products Association of Canada
called Monday’s TPP deal “an important boost” for Canada’s forest industry. The
lobby group noted that Canada currently exports more than $22.6-billion of
forest products a year to TPP countries and that is now expected to grow
because of the deal.
Heavy industry
Industrial goods like farming and construction
equipment as well as aerospace products would get quick access to TPP markets
under the deal.
“Canada has obtained an advantageous tariff
outcome – the elimination of all tariffs on industrial goods from all TPP
countries,” states background information released by the
Canadian government.
The Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters
praised the deal and said it would help its members reach the goal of doubling
Canada’s manufacturing and exporting output by 2030.
Pharmaceuticals
As the negotiators extended their deadline
over the weekend, reports emerged that rules relating to so-called biologics
were among the final points of disagreement. Biological products include
vaccines, blood and cutting-edge products that combine natural substances.
The final deal provides pharmaceutical
companies with five years of exclusive use of new biotechnology before having
to share that data with generic drug manufacturers. The Biotechnology Industry
Association had been urging TPP countries to match the current 12-year
intellectual property restrictions that are in place in the United States. The
association called the shorter protections “remarkably short-sighted” and
warned they would chill global investment in new health research.
Services
Bankers, engineers, architects and
environmental consultants are some of the jobs that fall under the broad
category of services covered by the TPP. The deal will make it easier for
employees to make temporary work trips within the TPP region. There are also new
provisions to make it easier for workers to bring their spouses on
business trips.
Canadian officials argue that Canada’s banking
sector in particular should benefit from the deal. They also insist that the
deal allows Canada to protect and promote its existing rules for supporting
Canadian culture.
“Nothing in the TPP agreement prevents
governments from regulating in the public interest, including with regard to
adopting measures to promote culture, delivering public services like health
and education or providing protections for Aboriginal peoples,” the government
states in background documents.
– Bill Curry in Ottawa
More reading:
HOW COULD IT AFFECT
OUR TRADING PARTNERS?
More reading:
WHERE DID THE PARTIES
STAND ON TPP DURING THE ELECTION?
Liberal Leader Justin
Trudeau, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper, and New Democratic Party Leader
Thomas Mulcair take part in the Munk leaders’ debate on Canada’s foreign policy
in Toronto on Sept. 28, 2015.
MARK BLINCH/REUTERS
More reading:
With reports from Globe staff and The Canadian Press
法律申明|用户条约|隐私声明|小黑屋|手机版|联系我们|www.kwcg.ca
GMT-5, 2024-5-30 09:20 , Processed in 0.023943 second(s), 17 queries , Gzip On.
Powered by Discuz! X3.4
© 2001-2021 Comsenz Inc.