The terms negotiated for the
Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal which U.S. President Donald Trump scuttled
would have given Canadian meat exporters an opportunity to boost exports by
$500 million a year, Ron Davidson of the Canadian Meat Council told Drover
magazine in an interview.
Exports to TPP member countries, other than the U.S.,
total $1.7 billion a year now, and are about 27 per cent of total Canadian meat
exports, Davidson said.
The council and the Canadian Pork Council are both
urging Canada to quickly reach a trade deal with the remaining TPP members.
One of the reasons, Davidson told Drover magazine, is
that Japan has signed a free trade deal with Australia which is giving it a
competitive advantage over Canada.
Japan is also negotiating now with the European Union.
“Each year that passes further increases
the disadvantage in terms of market access between countries that have a free
trade agreement with Japan and those, including Canada, that have not
negotiated and implemented a free agreement,” he said.
Australia got a better tariff deal and better terms on
Japan’s special tariffs which kick in when certain volumes are exceeded.
That quota has been a huge issue for Canadian
exporters who usually race to get their meat into the market before the quotas
are filled and tariffs increase.
Davidson also foresees bigger advantages arising from
the TPP because it could dove-tail with other free trade agreements.
“China is a lead participant in the
negotiation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a free
trade agreement between the ten member states of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar,
the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and the six states with which
ASEAN has existing free trade agreements (Australia, China, India, Japan, South
Korea and New Zealand).
Several countries ((Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam) are
participants in both the TPP and the RCEP.
“As the TPP is broader in scope than the RCEP, it is
possible that the two multi-country agreements will coexist and, collectively,
determine the future framework of trade and investment rules and flows in the
Pacific Region,” Davidson is quoted by Drover magazine. China is a lead participant
in the negotiation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a
free trade agreement between the ten member states of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and the six states with
which ASEAN has existing free trade agreements (Australia, China, India, Japan,
South Korea and New Zealand).
Several countries ((Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam) are
participants in both the TPP and the RCEP. As the TPP is broader in scope than
the RCEP, it is possible that the two multi-country agreements will coexist
and, collectively, determine the future framework of trade and investment rules
and flows in the Pacific Region.
