Trade treaties are proving to be a hot button issue in the summer of 2014. Late breaking news in this portfolio include the following stories:

  • WTO Dispute with the US: On June 27 iPolitics reported that the “Harper government took the U.S. to task this week at the WTO over the latest round of Buy America measures, a preliminary step in what could lead to dispute settlement proceedings at the Geneva-based organization”. The story quoted Canada’s Agriculture minister Gerry Ritz as stating that the US are acting like “schoolyard bullies” on trade issues. On June 30 globalpost also confirmed that Canada is proceeding with a formal WTO compliant, stating that “Canada is very concerned over recent legislation in the United States that reflects repeated attempts to impose domestic content requirements for products purchased by federal, state and municipal-level governments within the U.S., according to a statement by Canadian Minister of International Trade Ed Fast Monday.”
  • Agreement on Internal Trade File Heats Up: On June 16 the Globe and Mail reported that the Canadian federal government is “turning its attention to dismantling the protectionist barriers that exist between provinces and cost the Canadian economy as much as $49-billion annually.” On July 9 the Vancouver Sun reported that the “leaders of three western provinces want to overhaul an agreement on  internal trade” and that “Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall, Alberta Premier Dave Hancock and B.C. Premier  Christy Clark have sent a letter to other premiers saying it’s time for a more modern approach.” On July 10 CBC News also confirmed that the “western premiers wrapped up a series of meetings with their Nunavut and N.W.T. counterparts in Iqaluit on Thursday with a largely unified front on what Ottawa needs to do to help provincial and territorial economies.”

As these reports indicate, the reduction of protectionist barriers on both the international and domestic trade front appears to be an increasingly high government priority at both federal and provincial levels across Canada.