This month marks the 25th anniversary of the implementation of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement and the 20th anniversary of the implementation of NAFTA.
Free trade has been important to the expansion of Canada’s economy prior to the 2008 recession.
These anniversaries came and went with little attention from the Canadian media and the public. Canadians should understand the importance of free trade, and should push the federal government to enter into free trade agreements with other countries.
The federal government is currently finalizing free trade negotiations with the European Union and is seeking to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Should the TPP’s members be expanded from the original members of Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore, it will also include the U.S., Peru, and many countries in the Asia-Pacific region with emerging economies.
Canadians see the benefits of free trade every day. Canadians can purchase American products without paying tariffs.
American products are much more accessible to Canadians and vice-versa, as it is much easier for products to be traded across North America.
But free trade hasn’t come without controversy. Free trade isn’t as successful during a recession.
Canadian dairy farmers have criticized the government for creating a free trade deal with the EU because they believe it will reduce domestic cheese production.
Others are against Canada joining the TPP, as it means Canada’s copyright and surveillance laws will become stricter. While these are contentious issues, this isn’t where Canada’s problem with free trade lies.
Canada’s problem with free trade negotiations is that they take years to come to fruition. Canada has been negotiating with South Korea to establish a free trade agreement since 2005. South Korea’s economy has grown sharply in the last decade.
Canadians use many Korean products, most notably cell phones and automobiles. Samsung and LG smartphones, which use the Android operating system, are some of iPhone’s largest competitors.
Walk down the streets of Centretown and you will see the battle between iPhone and Android users.
Despite Japan being the word’s third largest economy, Canada only entered into free trade negotiations with Japan in 2012 after a year of consultations.
With many Asian countries now in the process of recovering from the recession, Canada should focus more on expanding free trade with these countries.
Analysts in Time and The Economist have predicted that China will overtake the U.S. as the world’s largest economy, and Canada should take advantage of that.
While Canada has improved diplomatic relations with China, it has not decided to enter into free trade negotiations with China at this time.
Some worried that NAFTA would take jobs away from Canadians and transfer them to the U.S. or Mexico.
But the economic worries were for naught. Free trade has helped Canada become the G8 member it is today.
Positive diplomatic relations with emerging economies offers Canada an opportunity to enter into free trade agreements – strengthening Canada’s position as a world player.