Shill of the Week - David Emerson: Knowledge Driven Revolution

Canada maintains significant trade and foreign-investment barriers that cost Canadian consumers and hurt the economy, the World Trade Organization says in a report released Friday.

“The outward-looking orientation of Canada’s trade regime has facilitated the economy’s successful adjustment to a number of external shocks, and helps explain Canada’s good economic performance during the last four years,” said the organization’s latest review of Canada’s trade policies and practices.

“However, productivity growth has been relatively slow, significant trade barriers still protect certain agricultural activities and foreign-investment restrictions remain in areas such as telecommunications, audiovisual and air and maritime transport,” it said. “Reform in these sectors could lower costs to Canadian taxpayers and consumers while increasing productivity and competition in the domestic market.”

Noting that trade and foreign investment are particularly important for Canada, which is the world’s fifth-largest goods-trading nation, the report urged the Canadian government to address those “remaining policy-induced distortions” to help ensure that Canadians continue to enjoy one of the highest living standards in the world.

The criticisms, however, were ignored in a glowing news release by Canada’s trade and agriculture ministers on the results of the review, which is aimed at enhancing trade policy transparency and adherence to global trade rules.

“Canada has one of the world’s strongest and most open economies, based on sound policies and free-market fundamentals,” International Trade Minister David Emerson said. “Trade and foreign investment are important to our economy, which is why we depend on the predictable and transparent trading environment that the WTO affords.”

“As a significant agricultural exporter, Canada is working hard at the WTO to further strengthen the international rules governing agricultural trade for the benefit of our sector and our economy,” added Agriculture Minister Chuck Strahl.

Canada’s farm subsidies are less than the average among industrial nations and also less trade-distorting, the review said.

Still, Canada provides significant assistance to supply-managed dairy and poultry producers, it added.

The review, meanwhile, attributed Canada’s good economic performance in recent years in part to the Canadian economy’s flexibility, noting that growth has continued despite significant shocks, including soaring energy prices, booming oil and gas production and the sharp appreciation of the currency.

“On the other hand, relatively slow productivity growth is a feature of the economy,” it said. “Productivity growth could be accelerated by, among other things, eliminating barriers to agricultural imports, removing restrictions on foreign investment, minimizing subsidies that distort competition and dismantling obstacles to internal trade.”

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Shill of the Week: David Emerson

WTO report asks Canada to further lower trade barriers